Dead Meets Dead
by lillypaddy
Summary: Sookie is a fairy-vampire hybrid trying to find the vampire that made her five-years ago. When she meets her first other vampire in Sheriff Eric Northman, can he teach her the basic skills on how to be a vampire while acting as her surrogate maker? Can he also ultimately help her in tracking down her real maker that abandoned her? Vampire SookiexEric. AU, Humor, mystery, Lemons.
1. Chapter 1

_**Firstly, I own nothing to do with True Blood. I'm just a huge fan of both the books and the shows, and followed them. I wasn't too pleased about the ending of TB, I wished they had explored Sookie becoming a faepire- it would have been interesting- so this is my attempt. I hope it isn't terrible, it's probably a bit ridiculous really :) **__**I am not sure if anyone would be interested in this, but I would love to know if you think I should consider continuing it?**_

_**C**__**hapter One**_

It was happening again. Every four hours or so, it happened, usually at the most inconvenient of times or places. Fortunately, now, being at Merlotte's and how sympathetic my boss Sam was into my personal needs, it wasn't another inconvenient time.

I stood at a table in my partition, trying to concentrate on taking down orders for the woman seated in front of me, who looked about in her late fifties. She had a terrible haircut and she was that indecisive on what to order for lunch that it was seriously getting up my craw. I know when it isn't appropriate to be rude, so I shut my mouth and waited patiently, keeping a tight-lipped smile on my face with tremendous effort, while I stole a couple of furtive glances at the clock hanging up on the wall.

I wasn't due for my lunch break for another half hour, only my body had already started to warn me it was now a good idea to start thinking on getting myself some lunch to get me through the hours before the customers became it themselves. I was trying to appear normal and polite, even going so far as to lean against the table and try to help the woman make her selection on what to eat.

I recommended to her one of Lafayette's specialty burgers (Which I had not tried before, though had heard through word-of-mouth they were delicious), while I tried with all my will-power not to let my eyes stray to her neck. I loved my job, it meant a lot to me; how Sam had let me work for him despite the risk I was, how much of a liability. So, Sam's friendship meaning a lot to me, I worked hard to keep myself firmly in-line.

But then it happened.

I was half-listening to the woman telling me she didn't like onions, when rudely, my stomach made a terrible gurgling sound. It was terribly loud, and she peered up at me in disgust through the round shiny disks of her reading glasses in offense.

"Oh, pardon me," I said, laughing a little. "There are onions in that, ma'am. But I can make a personal request of Lafayette to skip on the onions. His burgers are the best and I know you'll-" Throughout making pleasant conversation with her, I inhaled in through my mouth and out my nose, as you do. My nostrils stung and I could feel a burning sensation rising in my throat.

Uh-oh. Not good. Not good at all.

I had to get myself some lunch, and immediately. I couldn't afford to have a lapse in self-control. Neither could Sam and his business.

Turning away from the woman with some difficulty, I focused on Sam, who was standing behind the bar managing the cash register. I saw two Sam's as my vision blurred from hunger.

"Uh, Sam?" I called slowly. Through my foggy vision, I saw Sam look over and raise his eyebrows at me. "I know I only got half hour till my lunch break, but I'm needing a blood now. Would you mind?"

"Not at all, Sook," he answered, his voice sounding oddly distant. "I'll get straight on it. Don't you worry about a thing."

It was really lucky Sam understood the urgency of getting me a bottle. I heard him put a bottle of blood in the microwave to heat it up some, and I sighed in relief as I turned back to deal with my picky customer. I knew she had put two and two together, and she scrutinized me critically through her glasses before she got to her feet.

She gave me the dirtiest, toffee-nosed look she could muster.

Told me I'm a freak of nature. That what I am is a sin against the Lord and his image of mankind. Yawn.

Then without another word, she stormed out the bar. What a judgmental bitch... She was lucky I was used to being talked down to, otherwise I might have felt tempted to follow her outside and have her for a snack.

My mouth watered at the very thought and it was satisfying to imagine myself doing that. Following her out and confronting her. But before I could get too excited, I felt Sam push the glass bottle of synthetic blood in one of my hands and I brought my eyes up to his face to smile at him gratefully.

"Don't you worry about her now, Cher," he said gently.

"I'm used to it," I shrugged. "I'm just sorry you lost another potential customer."

It didn't happen often. Most customers didn't realize what I was, until I demanded a bottle of synthetic blood, which kind of spelled it out to them that I was a vampire. Hell, half of the other waitresses I worked with didn't realize either, till they noticed I didn't eat on my lunch breaks and that I'd always ask Sam for a bottle of blood. It also always tended to throw people off, when they realized I was working during the day and that the sunlight had no effect on me whatsoever, which it does regular vampires.

You hear that sunlight and vampires do not mix, so naturally you could imagine my shock when I went outside and I felt nothing as the sun hit my skin.

I was turned five-years-ago. I didn't remember much of it or who the person was that had brought me over to the dark side. I was just a human struggling with being telepathic, and then it happened. Turned out, I wasn't all human to begin with, so now I'm a vampire that can walk in the sunlight and do things during the day.

I thought family really was something that pulled you through even the most worst ordeals. If it hadn't been for my Grandmother Adele, I didn't know what would have happened to me or what type of person I might have turned into. Gran made sure I remembered who I was before, and she warned me against any messy incidents all the time.

I suppose you wouldn't instantly assume I was a vampire, if you walked in the bar and just looked at me. I could be friendly and I could smile, and I could make jokes too. I was somewhat pale, but fake tan helped. I preferred being tanned to pale, and my hair was blond and long and I dressed like everyone else. Only problem was that I came with a pair of fangs and I had uncontrollable blood thirst every four hours, which sipping on bottles of synthetic blood quenched.

Tru Blood was the synthetic blood the Japanese had invented as a substitute or replacement for the real thing nearly seven years ago. First I heard of it, when vampires had come out, I had wondered what it would be like to be a vampire, what Tru Blood would taste like. Five years later, here I was, now a vampire and now knowing what the synthetic blood tasted like.

I went outside the back entrance of Merlotte's to get some sun on my skin, while I pursed my lips over my bottle of blood and sipped greedily. I was sure anyone witnessing someone drinking bottled blood while standing outside in the sun would have found it so ironic. Or that I was a vampire wannabe taking it one step too far. Sometimes, when I stood out front, I'd find it so hilarious, listening into people's thoughts and the way they reacted to seeing me sipping away at the synthetic stuff. It was a real thrill, most of the time.

Most of the people I knew were supportive, and most of the people I worked with were accepting and even cracked light-hearted jokes with me about it from time to time; My Grandmother and brother Jason, especially.

But I've had my fair share of people who weren't as tolerant or accepting of the way I am.

Like most things, you get bad days, and then you get good ones. Luckily for me, I had a lot of understanding people to lean on.

One of the women I worked with on a daily basis Arlene came in around the corner to greet me before she started her afternoon shift. Instance she spotted me standing around, working on getting some sun on my bare legs in my shorts while I gulped down my lunch for sustenance, she put her forefingers together to make a finger-crucifix and I made a show of withering around and fake squealing over it, and we both shared a good and hard laugh over it together.

Sometimes it helped not to take my situation so seriously. I had to laugh about it, otherwise I would have only lost myself into a deep hole of dark depression.

"You on your lunch break?" she asked me with interest.

"Yep, I'm hungry," I admitted to her in a breezy way. "Scared one of the customers away, too. Said I was a sin to the Lord himself and his image of mankind."

"Really? Yikes, what a bitch." We stood around talking for a few minutes, and then as we got back inside, she pulled me aside and quietly said, "Hon, I think you better go brush your teeth before you get started on working again. You got stains."

It helped to have a friend like Arlene around, who was so frank and honest. And that was another curse about having to drink the synthetic stuff; Not only was it quite a tasteless drink, and I was positive it didn't taste as nice and warm as the real thing (Not that I'd know), but it also tended to stain your teeth. Which was why I always brought a toothbrush with me on hand, just in case. I smiled at Arlene thankfully and went into the bathroom to make sure I brushed hard enough to rid my teeth of stains, and then I was immediately back out off to work again, feeling instantly better now that I'd had my fix for a few hours.

I kept myself busy, going from table to table, and I didn't feel tired once. That was a great thing about being a vampire; You could work yourself hard and not tire very quickly, so I used all that extra stamina to my advantage.

By the time night came, Merlotte's grew even more busy.

People liked to come in to unwind after a long day, and my older brother Jason was one of them. He came into the bar, and I knew he had his sights instantly set on one of the regulars that hung out here. He liked to flirt, and he liked hooking up. He also felt shameless about using me as his wing-woman, from time to time. People were naturally curious about the things they didn't understand and Jason loved to tell everybody about his lil sister being one of the undead.

Apparently showing women how accepting he was of me was a real turn-on and aphrodisiac to most of them.

It pissed me off half the time and Jason sometimes made me feel like an animal in the zoo, but I supposed I couldn't blame him.

He came straight over, kissed me on the cheek, and made a big deal of pointing out to me the woman he was interested in for the night and how he was hoping I'd let her catch a glimpse of my fangs. Jason knew that women adored a guy who was real kind to his family and to a sibling with a disability (Which, I supposed I had) and he was hoping with my assistance she'd agree to come home with him tonight.

I didn't have enough fingers on both hands to count the number of times Jason had pleaded for me to bring my fangs out so a woman could see them and feel sorry for me in some unnecessary way.

"So, uh, you gonna do this for me or not, sis?" He asked me, giving me one of his eager looks. Suppressing a sigh, I had to put in a little mental effort to protract my fangs, which Jason laughed gleefully in response and stared at them in wonder. "_Goddamn_, that's so fucking awesome!"

"Yes, and you're welcome," I retorted stiffly, getting back to work. I retracted my fangs, which Jason sighed deeply in disappointment at, and I rolled my eyes at him. Talking with fangs was no easy task. Well, not for me, anyway. I had found it hard to pronounce certain things so half the time, if I could help it, I'd keep them concealed. "I swear you love me more now that I'm a vampire than how I was before."

"Hey, that ain't true. I love you whether you're an undead bloodsucker or not. Kind of _do_ like you better like this, though."

"Gee, thanks Jason," I whispered sarcastically, picking up a large pitcher of beer off the counter with easy flourish. "I feel so much better." I was just slamming the pitcher down on the table ceremoniously to its owners when the door opened and someone different entered.

I remembered faces easily, and his was not one I wouldn't have bothered to memorize, because he was extremely handsome.

I kept my eyes on him as he looked around, searching for an empty place to sit while he sauntered through the bar. I couldn't hear his thoughts. I also had this strange and sudden belief that he was exactly just like me.

He was a vampire like me (well, kind of... except for him probably being one who can't sunbathe). He was extraordinarily tall, at around six-foot-something, I estimated off the top of my head. He was wearing dark jeans and a black V-neck shirt with a leather jacket thrown over it. When he turned in my direction before sitting, I got an even better look at his face and his dark blond hair was combed back neatly. With pleasure, I noticed he so-happened to sit in my area, and excited, I looked around for Arlene before rushing over towards her. She was slamming down some tequila shots and slices of lemon on the table for a group of men.

"Hey, hon. What's up?" she asked, looking my face over curiously.

"You wouldn't believe who just walked into the bar, Arlene," I laughed happily, flailing my hands around in front of me uselessly. I could have danced with joy.

Although Arlene was no mind-reader like I was, she managed to put two and two together and her mouth spread out into a wide grin.

"Oh, a vampire? In here? Where, honey?"

"Over there," I informed her eagerly, pointing out to where he was.

She bit her lip as she observed him and I could tell she was just as joyful as I felt. Arlene often joked that I needed to go out of my way to find a handsome vampire to date, so I would no longer feel so lonely and abnormal. I had told her on several occasions that I wasn't interested in dating 'normal' people. I didn't want to risk accidentally killing them and I hadn't met anyone like me in Bon Temps before, so surely, you could imagine how ecstatic I felt.

"Ooh, he's fine," she gushed. "You should go for it, girl! Go get a piece!"

It occurred to me that we were talking too loud, because suddenly he looked up and stared right at us. Arlene grabbed onto my forearm, squeezing down tightly, excited at the possibility of her good vampire friend getting some with a like-minded species. Feeling oddly flustered as his eyes fixated on me, I forced a smile on my lips, hoping to seem inviting and sweet.

But then that was when it happened, without my control.

I was smiling big at him, like a big open-mouthed smile with all my teeth showing. So, naturally, he noticed the way my fangs came out at the pleasure of seeing him. Arlene did, too, who laughed out loud.

"Oh my God, Sookie," she whispered breathlessly. "I think somebody just got her first fang-boner!"

Arlene was just trying to make one of her usual vampire-quips to me, but I couldn't help wondering if maybe she was right, and if that was it. Maybe I was experiencing a fang-boner for this vamp, after all? _Awkward._


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you guys so much for your lovely response lol. I know this story is probably way silly, but I hope you enjoy this chapter! Thank you so much!**

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_**Chapter Two**_

I found myself in a sudden and unexpected dilemma.

Of course, I had to go over to the hunky vampire and serve him, as he was sitting in my area. But since I hadn't had any proper interaction with another vampire before, I was clueless on how to take this and what to do. I found myself unsure of how to act and what was appropriate and expected of me with dealing with another of my kind. So, I suppose I just settled on trying to be my regular and normal, old self, which was a tricky task within itself.

I hadn't felt attracted to members of the opposite sex all that often, so I was surprised that my attraction to him was instantaneous, if yet purely superficial and based on his looks alone (Since I did not know him, of course). There was also something majorly comforting about finally meeting someone that was like you in most ways.

I was trying to calm myself down and work myself into approaching him, but the nerves would not seem to leave me. And neither would my fangs. I tried once, twice, three times to retract them, only they didn't seem to want to. Evidently this vampire had gotten me excited and my fangs didn't want to obey me anytime soon. _Fang-boner indeed._ I just hoped he wouldn't take my extended fangs as a threat.

When I peeked in his direction again while standing by Arlene, who had returned to her work- something I ought to have been doing- he made an exaggerated lip movement at me, and his fangs ran down, too. He made a real show of it, while giving me an intense look, one that I couldn't describe, and it got me as fearful as an alarmed cat. I wasn't sure what was going to happen in the next few minutes or what that meant for me.

To say I was intimidated was a massive understatement.

"My God, Arlene," I got out in an embarrassingly tremulous voice. "He just brought out his fangs, too. I hope he isn't insulted. Or... threatened by me."

Arlene laughed, and she sounded just as shaky as I had. "Nonsense, honey. I'm sure that's all normal for you-all. Maybe he's just letting you know he's your kind?" As if she had a flashbulb moment, Arlene said, "Oooh, which reminds me! This calls for a jukebox moment!"

Slipping over to the jukebox, she selected INXS's 'Need You Tonight', which was a pretty darn fitting piece of music, if you ask me.

_"So slide over here. And give me a moment. Your moves are so raw. I've got to let you know. I've got to let you know. You're one of my kind..."_

Arlene liked moments like this, where she could find fitting music to play to heighten the experience and general atmosphere around the bar.

"Good job, Arlene," I muttered under my breath, pulling a hand into the pocket of my apron to retrieve my pencil and little notepad. I couldn't put this off any longer. No, it was now time to put on my big girl panties and deal with the situation. I couldn't just stand around forever and not serve him. That would have only just been rude.

As I made the start over to where he was sitting at the table, I tried mentally to retract my fangs one last, hopeful time. Just like before, it failed on me, so I had no choice but to suck it up and endure attempting to make conversation with them extended. It was bound to be an unpleasant experience for me. I still hadn't mastered the art of talking with fangs, not even after five-years. I tended to slur and couldn't pronounce certain words and, occasionally, I spat a little while trying. I especially got a little spittle when trying to pronounce words starting with an S or T.

But I knew my hair was still neat and I trusted I looked decent enough to deal with another vampire, so hopefully that would make up for my lack of eloquence. I felt myself tense-up as he watched every movement I made towards him, and I felt the corners of my mouth yank up, which probably only served to show the full length of my fangs to him. At least I had brushed my teeth and had gotten the stains from my bottle of blood off earlier, though.

He straightened up in his seat as I reached him at last, and up closer, he looked even more handsome. His eyes were a nice shade of either grey or blue- couldn't decide which color, really- and they did a full inspection of me, starting from the very top of my head, all the way down my shorts and bare legs that were showing, to my trainers. When he finally settled on my face again, I arched my eyebrows, just a little. He could make of that what he will.

"Welcome to Merlotte's," I said finally, wrapping myself internally in threads of silver like a mummy when it occurred to me that I was speaking way too louder than I ought to. I put it down to nerves, nothing else. I dreaded the next part of the customary introduction, but setting my shoulders high and meeting his eyes, I said, with as much confidence as I could muster, "I'm S-S-Sookie and I'll be your server this evening. What can I get you?"

I died a little inside when I stuttered and lisped and even had difficulty pronouncing my name. Pronouncing things starting with an S with my fangs was always a true challenge for me, but I hoped to death he would see past that.

I didn't know how else to deal with this situation, so I just chose to act like he was any normal, regular customer that came into the bar. I wasn't sure whether we were meant to click each other's fangs together in greeting, or whether I was meant to bow and incline my head to him. I hardly knew what to do with myself.

"You could get me a b-bottle of synthetic blood." Just when I was about to let myself sigh loudly in relief at the idea of even him having trouble pronouncing things with his fangs in the way, he blew it all to hell in making an amused grunting sound which showed me he was just teasing.

I wasn't too pleased at being made a fool of, and I felt my hands tense up and shake as I clutched my notepad tighter and held my pencil as gently as I could in my other hand.

"Ha-ha, that's so funny," I muttered, giving him a sour look that showed him I thought and believed otherwise.

It took me hardly a second to scribble down his order of the synthetic stuff, and my fingers began aching from holding my pencil so tight between them. I feared I was very nearly about to snap it on myself, I was that embarrassed and affronted.

"Anything else I can get you while you're here?" I asked, then added, being sure I made it sound quite flirtatious instead of threatening, "A sharp stake to the heart, maybe?"

He made another deep grunting noise from the base of his throat to show his amusement at my quip, in case I didn't get it the first time around. Certainly, by looking at his expression which was deadly serious and quite regal, you wouldn't have thought I had made him amused at all. So the grunts and groans certainly helped send the message crystal clear.

"No," he answered, his voice low and pleasingly husky. "That will be all."

"What reason do you have, bringing yourself here tonight?" I asked outright, hoping not to be too impolite in asking. I hoped he didn't think I was meddling, but I was sincerely curious what business brought him here in Bon Temps.

"I was advised that there was a vampire in this area of Louisiana," he said, and I think I finally understood. "It would seem that vampire is you."

"Guess so," I replied nervously. I didn't know where else to go conversationally, and he made me feel a bit on-guard and anxious, the way he was staring at me. So I nodded my head, and hummed. "Well, I'll be back with your bottle of blood in just a moment, Sir."

As I walked away towards the bar, I could have sworn his eyes followed my behind. Just to be sure, I peeked over my left shoulder quickly and, yes, indeed they were. I felt my smile go up a notch higher at catching him out perving on my behind, and it made me feel great to know he was checking me out.

I went behind the bar, got a bottle of blood for him out the fridge, and plopped it in the microwave for it to heat for a good ten seconds. Ten seconds was all you needed to get the blood warm and just right enough. And believe me, I'd know, considering I drank it now myself on a regular basis. You had to heat it otherwise it remained all nasty and cloggy.

I looked and he was still staring at me while I waited for the microwave to ding off. I felt my smile get even bigger, if possible, and I lifted my hand up to touch my fangs with my fingers self-consciously. Apparently I had no control over them tonight, they just wanted to stay out and party. But when I glanced over at the vampire again quickly, I saw that his were still out, too, so it made me feel tons better.

The microwave dinged, I pulled his blood out and gave it a quick and vigorous shake, and then I grabbed a sparkling clean wine glass and carried them all the way back over to his table.

"Your blood and a glass, just in case you don't want it directly from the bottle, Sir," I said, slamming both down ceremoniously. "Oh, and I do hope you brought a spare toothbrush with you. I don't know about you, but I hate how my teeth get all scummy and stained afterwards."

I was rambling, something I did when I was nervous, and when I peeked over at his face again, I saw one of his fair eyebrows was slightly raised.

I felt my nerves sky-rocket when he slipped a hand inside the breast pocket of his leather jacket, then he was unfurling a piece of paper and laying it out long ways on the table. It was some document, typed by computer. It was some type of form that needed to be filled out, and when he turned to look up at me again, I saw he looked rather businesslike.

"I don't know if you are aware, but I have been informed that you haven't signed up on the registry as yet. It is considered a high felony of any vampire existing not to declare themselves as residing in America."

_And I had assumed he had just come all the way here for a bottled blood_... Apparently not. Apparently I was in some kind of trouble, and he had been sent for me to rectify it.

Even when I was a human, I feared getting on the wrong side of the law. I hadn't had much to do with the political side of vampire stuff, I'd seen a bit on TV when they were discussing it with the American Vampire League, but I was not completely aware. I had no idea on earth that I was committing some crime, no less that I was required to fill out a form that legally declared I was a vampire existing in the state of Louisiana.

"Oh, I wasn't aware that I had to," I explained anxiously. "I'm so sorry. I hope I'm not in too much trouble over that." It was obvious the form was for me to fill out, so I collected my pencil again. "I've been living pretty quietly and I've been making sure I do the right thing. Heck, I was only just turned five-years ago and I'm still pretty... new to all this."

"Baby vampire," he muttered under his breath, and if I could have blushed still, I more than likely would have.

It seemed like a flirtatious term to me. Was he maybe flirting with me?

"That explains everything. I'll overlook it for now, so long as you fill the form out correctly, and then I will be on my way." There was real authority to his tone, and I got the impression that maybe he was someone important. An important vampire.

Since I hated the thought of being in any trouble that I wasn't aware of, I obliged and slid the form closer to where I stood, and I bent over the table, making a quick start. The questions were fairly simple. I just had to state my name, my address, year I was turned. Those questions were easy. But then it got a bit more difficult, and there were some things I did not understand. Like, for instance, one question asked other vampires in residence/nest. What other vampires? And why would they be asking about a birds nest?

"Um, I don't understand this one," I said, tapping the pencil against the form. "It says nest and... other vampires in residence? I don't got any other vampires in residence. I live with my Grandmother and my brother, and they're humans. They're my biological family, at least the ones I had before I was turned into what I am now, so... huh?"

I looked his way questioningly and he was sipping on his bottle of blood with the most disgusted look on his face, while he looked over what I was writing. His mouth cringed a little every time he swallowed, and I found it so amusing, because I knew and understood exactly how tasteless synthetic stuff could be. I guess it was just so great to finally be in the company of someone who could completely 'get-me'.

He wiped his mouth with long, pale fingers and his nail beds were even a little blood stained. Mine, I had painted a pretty aqua color, but I never once got funny bits of blood on mine. Maybe he wasn't entirely dedicated to the bottle, this one? He must have drank from humans too. Personally, myself, I could see no other way.

"So I am assuming it is safe to say that you are mainstreaming?"

Again, I was stumped. I hadn't even heard that term before. I suppose I really was a clueless vampire. "Uh, mainstreaming? Huh?"

"That you willingly consort with humans and drink the synthetic blood regularly, rather than theirs. You have successfully integrated yourself into human society?"

Now all that was something I could understand. "I guess that's pretty much it, yeah," I said. "I live like I'm a human myself, because I know no other way. I grew up with my family, so even like this, I can't imagine doing anything else."

He told me I didn't have to fill that question in then, but the next one left me just as clueless as the last. It asked for me to write down who my Maker was, the person who had brought me over to the dark side. Of course, I didn't know the answer to that, either. I hadn't met the person that did it to me, and I had trouble remembering in full length what had happened. I did remember waking in the ground, though. I was covered in dirt and it was scary when I got out and realized I was dead alone. I couldn't even recall what the person looked like who changed me, no less.

"Um, with this question too, I don't really... know who my Maker was? He or she, whoever. I guess I'm an... orphan, if that even makes any sense."

He looked at me in a real funny way then, but I couldn't figure out why. I also kind of got distracted on trying to figure it out, when I noticed his teeth were stained, as they do. That was Tru Blood for you. But hell, even with red stains between his teeth, he still looked like the best thing I had ever seen in my entire life. Was it natural for vampires to feel that way towards another of their kind? I didn't even know if vampires got together and mated, or whatever. I suppose all this just went to show how ill-informed I was about my new life.

"You don't know who your Maker is?" he asked me slowly. I thought he sounded rather disbelieving.

"Nope. I don't. But I guess I'm cool with that."

"You don't know who you are Progeny to?"

Progeny? Yeah, now he had lost me again. "Progeny?" I asked in confusion. "See, I don't know anything about anything." I laughed nervously. "Guess I make a pitiful legal vampire citizen, don't I?"

"And he or she hasn't tried to call you?"

"Call me? Um, you mean by... phone?"

I could tell he was losing his patience with all my constant questions. His brows furrowed and he looked a bit agitated, which was the very last thing I was wanting.

"No, not at all," I answered quickly. "They haven't tried to contact me at all, whoever he- or she- is. But that's fine by me. I'm content and happy trying to live life the best I can to how it was before. The only difference is that I got these"- Here, I waved my fingers over my mouth, indicating my fangs -"And that I also crave blood every now and then. But the synthetic stuff helps, and my life has gone on to pretty much be how it used to be. I still get up and get to work, and I still have a fairly good social life. I just come with fangs and drink bottled blood now, is all." I was rambling, big time. But hey, I was pleased I wasn't slurring or spitting everywhere in front of him anymore.

I stole a quick look at him, and he was still looking at me funny. It was a look that, oddly enough, made me feel as if lightning was coursing through my veins.

"Um, sorry but... are we done now?" I asked him. "I just got to get back to work, and I can't be standing around in one place for too long. Have I filled it in all right or is there anything else?"

"You just need your signature," he said, still looking intently. He sounded rather breathless and astonished, I thought, which was strange. I guess I wasn't the only one feeling strange right now in his presence.

"Okay, sure." I signed my name on the bottom of the page with a flick of my hand, and then I went to let him borrow my pencil so he could sign off as witness. Our fingers touched, and I was surprised by how warm his skin was. I suppose it was probably because we were the same in temperature.

We were pretty much the same species, I guess you could say.

While he looked down and signed, I took his momentary distraction to look at the side of his face real closely while I could. He was definitely my type, if I do say so, even although I don't exactly have any specific type of man I'm interested in. His fangs were a bit longer than mine, and I had a sudden peculiar urge to tongue his. Just to like slip my tongue on and around them. Pretty sexual urge for someone like me, who usually doesn't think that way about anyone.

It was lucky I had good self-control.

He folded the paper up and in the next instance, he had it tucked away back safely into the breast pocket of his leather jacket. I was still stuck on staring at him, so when he glanced up at me, I felt kind of awkward and deviant with what I had thought about.

"We're done here for now," he said, and he rose from the chair. I had to step back a bit to allow him to get out, and the sexual urges got even worse when I could see all length of him. He was tall with me barely reaching the top of his shoulders in my old trainers, his shirt was clinging to him nicely, and I had to shove my hands around my back and clasp them tight so I wouldn't be tempted to just grab him and do something terribly irresponsible to him. "With all that said and done, I think I should tell you that you are looking at your Sheriff. I am Eric Northman, Sheriff of Area Five, and if you have any questions or any problems, you should report them to me immediately and I will deal with them promptly and accordingly."

It took me back a moment, hearing him announce he was my Sheriff. Crap, I didn't even know vampires had Sheriffs. No wonder I had sensed he was somewhat important; He certainly had that air about him.

"I'll do that," I said, a little breathlessly. "If I got any trouble, I'll be sure to contact you straightaway, Sheriff Northman. Thanks for coming by. It was real nice meeting you."

He nodded and stepped past me towards the entrance of Merlotte's to leave, and then something came over me. It was like something was taking over my body, holding it hostage. The vampire in me. Ridiculous as it was, I felt disappointed at the idea of him leaving so quickly. He had only just gotten here, and obviously it seemed he had a lot to teach me about being a vampire and what particular terms I ought to be aware of, in my new life. As if someone else was doing it, and not me myself, I heard it as it resonated through my body, and I felt shocked at such an inhuman sound coming from me. It was as if I was possessed by a demon.

A growl. Well, a little animal-grunt that I'd never heard from myself before, directed straight at him, my supposed Sheriff, who obviously heard it himself. He stopped dead in his tracks just as he reached the door, and his broad shoulders hunched slightly forward in his leather jacket at the sound. Then he turned back to look at me, with something there in his eyes. Something extremely vampiric and beastly, and a bit like how I had felt inside while I just did what I did in growling at him.

He stared at me for a moment longer, and it seemed like we were having a moment, a profound and wordless moment of connection due to being one and the same. Then he turned right back around and started towards me again with fast, lithe movements and a predatorial gleam in his eyes. A few humans were standing in the way but he simply elbowed past them in order to get close to me again.

I had no idea what was happening, but he stood around me, doing a full circle of inspection of my body, and I was distantly reminded of a snippet on TV I had watched recently, one about how male lions signaled their attraction and interest in a female lion, and it felt like he was doing the same thing to me.

Maybe us vampires weren't so different from animals, after all.

**I hope this wasn't really bad (the fact Sookie growled at him in particular) haha? This will definitely be M rated soon. Feel free to let me know your thoughts, I really appreciate them! :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you guys. Hope you enjoy this one :)**

**As usual, I'd love to know your thoughts!**

* * *

**_Chapter Three_**

I didn't know what was happening, but we were definitely having some kind of moment.

I was torn, between wanting to back down out of fear he'd do something to me, but also at the same time, I felt awfully tempted. I wanted to grab him roughly by the lapels of his leather jacket, throw him down against the nearest table in the bar that I could find, and do some dirty things to him. He ended his full inspection of my body by standing directly in front of me, his eyebrows raised slightly near his hairline and his fangs out and everything; A bit like this whole thing was an unspoken challenge between us.

Truth was, I kind of got real turned on by everything he was doing. I wasn't sure whether that was his real intention for me to be, or if he was just making a point that he was the better, stronger vampire than I was and that I ought to bow down to him and act subservient. The whole thing just made me terribly thrilled and aroused. He was definitely acting the alpha male, and the way he scrunched up his nose a little while sending a throaty, guttural noise my way- it turned me on.

But then our moment was royally shot to hell when my brother Jason slipped right in front of me, between us. He was my brother and although I was a vampire now, he still had my back, bless him. It was only natural of him to feel protective at seeing his little sister getting sized up by a vampire more than half her size and weight.

"Back up away from my little sister," Jason hissed in outrage. "What the hell do you think you're doing to her? Leave her alone, you big bully!"

"Jason," I warned him quietly.

Of course Jason didn't realize just who this vampire was, in the vamp hierarchy scheme of things, and how important it was that nothing happened to him. When Sheriff Northman showed he had no intentions of stepping down anytime soon by stepping closer to where my brother was, who was far shorter and- not to mention- in a rather vulnerable position, I felt a little afraid for Jason. I imagined this was how it was when you came across two dogs about to fight and get snappy. You didn't just get in front of them, you remained behind them so you wouldn't get hurt or caught in the scuffle. Jason didn't realize, though.

"He's just my brother," I said, hoping to alleviate the situation. "He doesn't mean no harm. Sorry about that, Sheriff Northman. Don't hurt him, please." I suppose I felt rather protective of my human sibling myself, because I stepped between Jason and slid in front of him, which Jason got in a huff about and tried to get in between us again.

I wasn't sure what was going to happen, and I grew even more worried about Jason's safety when Sheriff Northman puffed out his chest and snarled a little at me from over Jason's head. Shyly, I lowered my eyes at the sound, withdrawn. Then, much to my relief, he moved back slowly away from us, turned around, and then that was that. The tension seemed to leave my body immediately as he left the bar without a further glance back at us, and I turned to look at my stupid brother reproachingly. He looked a little nervous himself, and I heard him gulp.

"What the hell was all that about, sis?" he asked me. "Who was that big guy? And why the fuck was he getting all up in your face like that? I thought he was gonna rip your head-off for a moment there..."

"Everything was fine, Jason," I said, trying to sound reassuring. I still felt all shaken up myself, and my fangs were still out. "You shouldn't have done that, though. You should have stayed back like everyone else was! I was handling this!"

"You were handling it? Yeah, right, sis." He laughed apprehensively as a way to work out some of his own nervous tension. "It ain't my fault. Your my little sister, and besides, you looked scared by him! I thought he was trying to intimidate you or something. Can you really blame me for coming to my sister's defense? Gee."

"He's my Sheriff apparently," I said. "And, next time, you gotta be careful. Don't get in the way like that, Jason! You're lucky he never did something to you! I wouldn't have been able to stop him then!"

Jason shrugged. "I said I was sorry, sis," he muttered ruefully. "Damn. What more do you want from me?"

"Just don't tell Gran about this, please."

"Why would I?"

"Just _don't_, Jason. I don't want her knowing about this."

"Gran knowing about what?" Jason spluttered in confusion. Jason was never the sharpest tool in the shed, but I still loved him.

Apparently we were catching everybody's attention because people in the bar were staring, so with some effort, I forced a smile on my lips, like everything was good and well between us. Sam, who was behind the bar, was watching too and I could tell he was real worried by everything.

The girl Jason was interested in hooking up with for the night was watching too, so I told Jason to get back over there before she lost interest. Much to my relief, he did, and our argument ended just as quickly as it had began. Determined for everything to return back to normal, I started getting back to work again, trying to forget everything that had just happened between Sheriff Northman and myself.

Keeping myself busy, I went around, filling up the salt and pepper shakers. Sam was still watching, so I just shrugged at him and smiled, while still aware that my fangs were still out and that they obviously had no intentions of going away anytime soon.

"Everything all right now, Cher?" Sam asked me with concern as I got behind the bar.

"Everything's fine," I said, maybe lying a little on that. "You need me to do anything?"

"No, I think everything has all ready pretty much been done. What did Northman want with you?"

Obviously Sam knew this Eric Northman. I wasn't sure how he did, but he just did. "I just failed to register as an undead citizen," I explained to Sam. "I never even knew I had to in the first place. He just came in to check up on me and make sure I filled out the form, I guess."

"You look pretty shaken up. You sure you're feeling all right? Anything I can do to make you feel better?" He looked at me with a hopeful smile then while touching the collar of his shirt and adjusting it around his neck so I got a better glimpse of his throat, his eyes bright.

I knew my boss had a huge crush on me. Even when I turned undead, that crush still hadn't disappeared any. Often he wished I would think of allowing him to feed me, give me some of his blood. But what Sam probably didn't know, was that he gave off an off-putting smell. There was something different about him, something that instantly turned me off any blood-lust I could have had for him. I had spent most of my undead years living off solely synthetic blood, and I wasn't going to start actually feeding off humans anytime soon. I just didn't want to. I wanted to live as closest to my old self as I could get.

"I'm fine, Sam. Really. Just give me something to do, please!"

"Think you might have just gotten your wish, Sook," Sam said, with a small smile.

He was right, of course; With my sensitive hearing, I heard a pair of footsteps approaching the door of the bar before they even fully pushed their way inside. I turned and looked myself, and groaned internally.

It did not feel like luck was on my side tonight, or that I was being granted some special wish with the two that came in tonight. It was the very last two people on earth that I had wanted to deal with. It was the Rattray's, a scummy married couple, and I knew they specialized in draining vampires and selling their blood on the black market for a decent price. I didn't think they actually knew I was a vampire, but I had no hope in hell of hiding it tonight with my fangs on display.

They slid into a seat and started making out immediately, and I almost threw up. I hated the Rattray's that much, and I wasn't looking forward to having to serve them.

"Be right back," I told Sam unenthusiastically. "I'll go see what those two want."

Mack and Denise Rattray had always done their best to make me feel miserable whenever they entered the bar- I could hear their thoughts, and they weren't very entertaining nor polite- but not once had they fully acknowledged that I was a vampire, and that I had vampire blood within me. I suppose the pair didn't believe the rumors of me that spread around the small town; _'How could that retarded girl possibly be a vampire?_' I'd even heard Denise think once. _'What bullshit!'_

Unfortunately for me, tonight they would definitely realize the truth in those rumors.

I didn't bother playing nice or smiling for the couple as I reluctantly forced myself over to their table. Even as I reached them, they were still too busy shoving their tongues down each other's throats. I don't think malicious things about people real often- or well, at least, I steer myself away from it- but right then I wouldn't have minded putting my fangs to good use in shredding both Mack and Denise apart. I had to clear my throat loudly to get their attention, and finally, the two separated from each other. Mack looked real smug and lusty, while Denise seemed real pleased with herself. I envisioned myself tearing apart their flesh easily as if it were fabric, and it made me smile, real widely.

It was then the two noticed what I was, and that there was actually some truth in the rumors. Mack's eyebrows lifted as his gaze focused on my fangs, and Denise made an off-putting noise, like she'd been hit over the head with a frying pan and put to good sense. I felt the satisfaction on my face die, and my smile went away completely.

They were both stunned out of their wits that they hadn't seen it in advance that a seemingly mentally stunted girl like myself, was a vampire. Mack was wondering how they could somehow lure me away out of the bar to get some of my blood, while Denise started wondering how much of a profit they could make if they drained me entirely.

All of this had me feeling tense and shaken, but being used to hiding any expressions that might have come across my face, I made sure I seemed composed and utterly nonchalant.

"What can I get you both this evening?" I asked, and my voice sounded like something I hadn't heard before. I sounded ice-cold, disinterested, and deadly.

"We'll have a pitcher of Bud," Mack was saying, but it was difficult to concentrate when the two were thinking so loudly. Denise was adding up in her head how much money they'd make from me if they successfully lured me out.

"A pitcher of Bud," I repeated, feeling a tight smile straining on my lips. They passed me some money for the beer, with no tip, which they usually always didn't do, tipping. Who the hell doesn't bother to tip their waitress? It was only polite, after all. "Be right back with that." Glad to get away from them, I darted over to the bar and relayed their order to Sam.

When I glanced over in their direction again, they were both watching me, with contemplative looks on their faces. I was in trouble, but if I could help it, I could avoid it with some smart thinking. Clasping my hands tightly, I folded them over my stomach, trying to mentally calm myself down.

I was in danger, and I knew that much. They were planning on doing something to me tonight, something most likely unpleasant. I considered telling Sam about it, because if there was anyone I could trust to help me out in a potentially threatening situation, it would have been him. He cared about me, maybe not in any way I particularly cared for myself. I could ask him to escort me out to my car, and that ought to throw Mack and Denise off. Surely they wouldn't try to harm me in front of another, right?

But then again, I did not want Sam to get hurt.

I could ask my brother to walk out with me till I got safely into my car, but then when I tried to find Jason in the bar, he was nowhere to be seen. Neither was the woman he was interested in tonight. They had obviously left early.

It dawned onto me that I was out on my own.

I had spent a great deal of my time trying to be normal- or as normal as I could be, despite the changes I had to deal with now, being a vampire. I lived with my Grandmother, as I did before the change, because I wanted to go on as if I was that same girl I was before. I retained a good deal of my humanity in hanging around my Grandmother, and my vampire side was usually one I tried to suppress and pay no attention of.

Clearly tonight I was gonna have to embrace my natural vampire instincts if I wanted to survive the night.

As I went back to where Mack and Denise were sitting while holding their pitcher and two glasses easily in my hands, I knew what their intentions were then. They had made up their mind; They were going to wait until I finished my shift. They would meet me out in the parking lot, and then they were going to try ambush me and take some of my blood.

At least I knew in advance, and I had time to better prepare myself. Still, knowing ahead of time didn't make it any less scarier on me.

I tried to calm down and ignore the impending danger, by engaging in harmless, light conversation with Arlene. She had pulled her red mane of hair back away from her neck with one of her hands and was fanning her face with the other, while laughing. She was still feeling hot under the collar after having witnessed my interaction with my Sheriff.

"So?" Arlene said, bumping me playfully on my shoulder with hers.

"So, Arlene?"

"Well, what'd you think of that vampire? I saw some things going on between you two? Are you two gonna meet up later, and get your vamp on?"

Despite my nerves over Mack and Denise, Arlene still managed to make me laugh. "Stop it, Arlene," I warned her. "Nothing is going on. He said his goodbyes, and he left. That's it."

"You liked him though?" she asked me knowingly. "You thought he was hot?"

"I did," I admitted. "He was a... very attractive man."

She said something else to me, but I kind of tuned out. I debated on whether I ought to ask even Arlene to walk me to my car, but then I didn't want her getting into any type of unpleasant trouble either.

Usually, when my shift ended for the night, I was pleased and real happy to head on home and spend some time wth my lovely Grandmother. Now, thanks to knowing what was waiting for me with Mack and Denise, not so much. They had cleared out of the bar fifteen minutes ago, and I was willing to bet my left fang that they were waiting outside for me to catch me off-guard.

I went into the staff room, collected my belongings and hung my apron up, and I said my goodbyes to Sam and Arlene and everyone else who was still working late tonight.

What should I do? I wondered to myself as I dithered by the door to leave. Should I tell Sam, after all? Or should I just deal with it all on my own? Something told me I was not being a very good vampire, and honestly, I was pretty clueless. The vampire that had made me had pretty much neglected me, so I didn't know how I was supposed to act or be, as a vampire. I didn't know how to defend myself, no less. Which would have really come in handy right about now.

No longer putting off the inevitable, I strode out the door and stopped by the start of the parking lot, using my ears and eyes carefully to assess my surroundings. I yanked my keys out of my handbag, and I looked over at my car, which was a fair walk away in the lot. I made a start towards it, but that was when I heard it. To the far, far left of me, I heard Mack and Denise frantically going through the motions. They were aping themselves up to act, and catch me.

I felt my eyebrows dip and crease with worry as I tongued my fangs absently. And then I heard him, as he sprung out suddenly to my left.

I dodged just in time, and although it was dark, I could see him as clearly in the night as if it had been day. Thanks to being a vampire, my eyesight worked better and I could see Mack, and more importantly, what he was holding in his hands. It was a long chain of silver- something I knew was a weakness to a vampire. He lunged at me with it again, but I lunged back just before the silver could so much as touch me.

I had never been touched with silver before, so I wasn't too sure the extent of the pain it would present me. Wasn't too keen on finding out right now either and, if I could help it, I wasn't going to let it happen tonight.

"Here vampy, vamp, vampy," he uttered, like I was a dog he was calling to.

This whole thing made me mad. Very, very mad, and in a dangerous way I hadn't ever felt before.

I was mad enough that I thought I could even go so far as to seriously inflict damage on the Rats, and when Mack cursed unpleasantly under his breath and jumped forward to get me again, I wasted no time in dumping my keys and my bag on the ground. Now that I could use both hands, when Mack made the attempt to fling the silver over me once more, I moved quickly so that I was behind him and grabbed him roughly by the shoulders with all my might.

He was the one caught off-guard this time, and he began panting heavily while I heard his heart pumping furiously with his exertion.

"You really _are_ a pair of dumb hicks, aren't you?" I hissed angrily. "You better get on home _now_ before I kill you, you disgusting piece of no-good trash!"

I shoved him away, and he lost his footing and fell into the dirt and gravel loudly. He was still panting and he made a breathless noise that sounded like either sobbing or hysterical laughter. I couldn't tell which it was.

I was too excited and busy ready to fight off Mack to realize Denise had somehow slipped her way behind me, and before I could even so much as move out-of-the-way and defend myself, I heard the clinking of chains and she got me, real tightly, around my neck, while screaming triumphantly, "Take that, you retarded bitch! Oh, that's right! That'll teach you!" It was impossible to describe or adequately put into words how bad it felt, being touched with silver. Someone screamed like a banshee, and it took me a good second to realize that person was me.

Fire. Burning. I felt like I was being burnt alive, and I could feel my skin on my throat bubbling and sizzling away. My eyes went all blurry and I found it hard to see, because I must have been wailing that hard. It hurt like a cold-hearted bitch.

But then it happened.

Something or someone breezed past me, Mack's head had been ripped off in one instance, and then Denise was being shoved away from me, the silver and all the pain was gone, and her head was off her too.

I lost all sense in my legs then, and I fell down to the ground on my knees, shaking violently under the shock of it all. Blood. Blood was everywhere on the ground and then my Sheriff was standing there, with blood slathered all over his mouth and his fangs extended too. He had saved my life, that much was true, and the glint in his eyes told me he felt just as excited about the whole thing as I did. _There's nothing like a bit of murder to heighten the mood in the air..._

In a terrible way that ashamed me, I felt tempted to bow down in the dirt and lick the blood right off the ground. I could smell the blood, and I could see it everywhere- belonging to both Mack and Denise- and to not do it seemed like such a waste.

But with strict control on myself, I sat down on my butt and wrapped my arms tightly around myself, forcing myself not to move any closer to any blood or entrails. I had never once felt such blood-lust and hunger as I did just then, and when Sheriff Northman crouched beside me, I settled for him instead.

Losing myself in an insane way, I crawled over him and could hardly stop myself from licking him. I used my tongue to lick the blood off his forehead, and off the side of his mouth, and I never knew anything could taste so good as real, fresh human blood.

But when he made a deep-throated noise of disgust, that pulled me back to rights pretty quickly. I shoved myself away from him, covering my arm over my mouth. It was scary, how quickly I seemed to have lost myself just then. And licking another vampire's face clean of blood, who was supposed to be your Sheriff, probably wasn't the smartest thing in the world to do.

"Oh my stars, I'm sorry," I muttered weakly, deeply ashamed with myself. "I... I don't know what just came over me then. But I _am_ deeply, truly sorry!" I could still taste the blood I had licked off him in my mouth, and I licked my lips and swallowed, indulging in the taste. It was salty, and gorgeous, and just tons better than the synthetic stuff, which was so tasteless but still just as satiating nevertheless.

Once my Grandmother found out about this, she was going to have a fit.

Gran often acted as moral support for me, always lending a hand and passing Tru Blood's my way if I ever felt quickly and dangerously tempted to taste the real thing. But since she was not here, there was no one to do that for me, and my hunger and curiosity to taste it got the better of me.

I was so terrible.

"Thank you," I reminded myself to tell him, my voice thick. "Thanks for coming to my aid, by the way. I don't know what I would have done, had you not come like you did just then."

"Don't mention it," he said, shrugging. He sounded breathless himself and I watched as he lifted his arm and wiped his face on the sleeve of his leather jacket. I couldn't tell if he was doing that to wipe the blood off, or if it was because of my saliva from licking him. Either way, my embarrassment over the incident soared sky level. _Why oh why did I have to just lick him? Real smooth._

**_Hope you enjoyed this one? What do you think of Sookie as a somewhat naive vampire? Hope it isn't boring or silly. Do you want Eric to teach her more about being a vampire? We'll find out who her Maker is very soon. :)_**


	4. Chapter 4

_**Chapter Four**_

We had an issue on our hands, with the two bodies.

After my embarrassment over licking him had waned off, that issue became glaringly obvious and I was starting to think more coherently again. Mack and Denise were dead, and we couldn't just leave them. Unless we wanted to have to deal with the police, which I did not. I could never live with myself if Gran had somehow come to learn of this.

_Gran._

_Oh God, I was gonna be in deep shit once I got home..._

I smacked myself in the forehead, telling myself mentally to toughen the hell up. Now wasn't the time to freak out about how Gran would react. It would be better to think about nothing else but focusing on the task at hand.

Carrying the bodies and digging up a few graves to put them in before someone noticed...

I felt terrible to admit it, but I felt no sadness or pity for Mack and Denise when I got up on my knees and looked at their heads. Their necks were all stringy and bloody from where Sheriff Northman had pulled their heads off, and rather instead of feeling sorry for them, I felt wickedly satisfied. They had tried to hurt me and drain me, and for that, they wouldn't be getting any sympathy from me. I knew it was a cruel way to put it, but it was simply true. It was just how I felt.

"Well, we better get to moving the bodies before anyone notices," I said, being pretty rational considering. "I'll take Denise, you can take Mack." I sounded just as careless as I felt, as if this was nothing to be doing. "We should bury them somewhere over there in the wood area. I'm sure no one would even start thinking about investigating there anytime soon."

I got to my feet and grabbed a fistful of Denise's hair, lifting her head off the ground. Clumps and stringy bits of her blood flung around me and that awful urge to lick it all up came to me again. But concentrating real hard, I shook my head and lunged down to grab her arm, dragging her body along the gravel. Sheriff Northman was silent as he did what I said, in grabbing all of Mack, too. And then we were cutting in through the bushes and I fell back while my Sheriff found suitable ground to bury them. I figured he had way more experience of burying dead bodies than I did, anyhow.

We didn't have a shovel with us, so we were obviously going to have to use our hands. Eric dropped Mack's head carelessly on the ground near his body and got to his knees, starting to use his hands. Without thought, I dropped down too and started helping him. An eerie silence passed us as we both used our hands and fingers to scoop up dirt and push it out of the way. I didn't realize how dirty I was getting, until I had a good look at my T-shirt.

"Oh, great," I mumbled under my breath. Not only did I have smears of dirt on my white shirt that I used as uniform for work, but I also had splotches of blood on me, too. Fantastic. Now how was I properly going to hide this from Gran? "How am I gonna explain how I look to Gran?"

I was mostly talking to myself, but I noticed Sheriff Northman still from his moving to peer back over his shoulder at me. Without thinking what I was doing, I closed my eyes tight, focusing real hard on hearing his mind. I thought it ought to be easy-peasy, considering how we were pretty much the same species. To my astonishment, there was... nothing. Just a ringing silence, unlike humans who I could hear and have heard for a very long time. It was astounding; I couldn't hear what he was thinking or, no less, what he was thinking or feeling in regards to me, which certainly would have helped. When I reopened my eyes quickly, trying to appear normal, he was watching me. To make an excuse, I just started talking and blubbering again, saying the first thing that came into my head.

"Hopefully she'll be already in bed by the time I get home, anyway." He was quite clearly questioning the state of my mental health, considering the look he was giving me. "Um, you think this is deep enough now?" I asked uncertainly.

He nodded once. "It's deep enough," he clarified quietly, his voice deep.

"Great," I said, relieved.

I sort of just wanted to get home already. I was tired of feeling like a fool in front of him. Reaching behind me, I grabbed Denise's head and threw it down in the pit I had dug up for her. Then with even more satisfaction, I stood and nudged her body into the hole with the tip of my shoes. She rolled right in, and I got even sicker satisfaction with falling back down on my knees and starting to cover the hole back up by pushing the soil back in over her.

"Can't say I'm gonna miss them," I said, trying to keep a level of conversation going on between us. "They would give me hell all the time. I know it's probably cruel not to feel bad about them being dead, but it's true. You did a favor, and that's by ridding the world of the likes of them two."

Once Denise was completely covered, I sat back, dusting my hands off. He had finished too, but he probably had been way faster about it than I was. He was sitting back, resting against the tree behind him, his elbows resting on his knees. I could see some blood still there on his forehead; A bit that I had missed, and that urge came on like crazy again. It wasn't just blood-lust that was effecting me this way; I thought it was also the fact that I found him scrumptious. Maybe I just wanted a good enough excuse to lick him again? He was extremely, urm, lickable.

Losing myself and going feral in a scary way, I scooted closer to him and, next thing I knew, I was straddling him and I held his head between my hands. As I bent down to lick his forehead clean, the rest of his face mashed into my shirt, right near my bosoms, and he made a few sounds that did not sound at all happy.

One of his large hands was around my throat in less than half a second, restraining me.

Shame and embarrassment hit me then, in a lethal dose, and I pushed myself away frantically, getting back up onto my feet, his hand falling away from my throat. I glanced down at him in horror, his chest was heaving, and he definitely was not pleased by my behavior to say the least. But then neither was I.

_What was wrong with me?_

His eyes were wide and he looked both shocked and repulsed, yet again. My vigorous licking had made a few strands of his hair fall out of place from its previously orderly slicked state over his forehead. How could I have lost myself completely? And for the second time? I had no idea what was wrong with me.

"Um, well, thank you for rescuing me from the Rats," I gulped, and eager to leave and get past my embarrassment, I ran away, straight to where my car was parked. To my relief, he didn't follow me. Well, I couldn't say I was one-hundred-percent relieved that he hadn't bothered to follow me; It would have done nice in reassuring me that there was nothing wrong with me. But clearly there was, and clearly he believed that, too.

Even having been turned a vampire now I still got deemed crazy. It would never change, apparently.

Making matters worse, Gran was awake when I got home. Even from where I sat, in the car, I could hear the television going off inside the house. Quickly, I pulled my mirror towards me and worked on making myself look normal and decent again. But there was only so much I could do. I was dirty, from head to toe, covered in both dirt and blood. I wondered if Gran would notice if I tried to climb in through my bedroom window. I knew she would have, though.

No, there was no other choice but to have to face Gran while I was looking like this. And knowing her, she was going to instantly come to the worst conclusion; That I had finally lost myself and had murdered my first victim tonight. It was half true, but I hadn't really been the one that had murdered them.

I was such a terrible vampire.


	5. Chapter 5

_**Chapter Five**_

I had no choice but to accept my fate.

So, heading up the porch steps, feeling very much like a dog with its tail between its legs, I opened the front door and got inside, trying to be as quiet as I possibly could. I could have easily sped up to my room and changed, but Gran was sharp as a tack. She would have noticed instance I so much as made the attempt. So clasping my hands together and steeling myself, I approached the living room where the TV was going, knowing beyond a doubt that Gran would be in there. The instance I stopped by the doorway, looking in, Gran looked at me, and she made a noise of terror at the sight of me. I knew how bad I looked, how suspicious, so I immediately knew how she would take this. This was like the first night I had come home after being turned a vampire and having slept and woke in soil all over again. I could tell Gran was having a little horrifying trip down memory lane herself; I couldn't blame her.

"Good heavens. Sookie, what has happened to you tonight?" She stood from her armchair, coming closer. I could tell by her thoughts that she was more so worried for me, worried why I was covered in blood and dirt the way I was. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," I tried to reassure her. "And I'm sorry I'm late tonight. Something happened which is why I'm... how I am looking now." I waved my hands down my soiled clothing to stress that point home to her. "But please, don't worry yourself. I'm fine. I'm not hurt, I just... look bad, is all."

"Yes, indeed you do." Suspicion started settling its way in then. Gran looked me over, squinting. "You've got blood all over you, dear?" She was now wondering if I had killed someone tonight; My first victim in five years. She could tell the blood wasn't mine.

"Please, before you start jumping to conclusions, just hear me out, Gran," I begged uneasily. "I... fell over." I was going to try be half honest with her by telling her I had been attacked tonight by the Rattrays. But then what good would that do? If someone somehow found where we had hid them and notified the police of it, once it got media coverage Gran would instantly put two and two together and automatically assume it had been me. "I know that sounds completely lame, that I fell over. But that's why I've got dirt all over me; I fell over."

I could tell Gran didn't quite believe me. Her eyes focused on the splotches of blood on me, almost incriminatingly. "But what of all the blood? Are you sure you didn't-"

"-Gran, you know me!" I felt terrible lying to her, but I was assuming- although we hadn't properly talked about- that Sherriff Northman wouldn't have liked me to tell the truth to anybody- so I was protecting both our asses. "Would I ever lose control and kill somebody? You know how hard I've been trying. Why can't you show a little faith in me?" Apparently I was a decent actress, because she took my hand in her warm ones, squeezing gently.

"Oh, you know I never meant it like that, dear. I was just worried."

"Well, please don't be." I returned her squeeze, but more gently and carefully out of fear I'd crush her. "I'm still me, the old me that you know. Just because I'm... a vampire now, that don't change anything!"

"I know that, honey." Much to my relief, it was dropped, for the time being. Our conversation. "You needing a TruBlood? Or have you already had one?"

"Sam got me one earlier today but it's probably best I have one before I go to bed." After all, you could never be too cautious, could you?

"Well, you go change out of your clothes and I'll put them in the washing machine, dear. Hopefully we can get all that muck off so you can rewear them tomorrow!"

"Oh, I hope so."

Feeling relieved beyond words, Gran went off into the kitchen, preparing me a blood, while I got upstairs to my bedroom and peeled off my stained clothes. Thank god she had dropped the conversation easily, otherwise I wouldn't have known what to do. I wasn't entirely sure whether she believed my story or whether she was still a tad suspicious, because once I got downstairs and shoved my clothes into the washing machine, her mind was off it and onto other things.

"How was work tonight?" she asked me as I got in the kitchen, pulling up a chair for myself. My blood was already heated and she had it on the table resting on a coaster for me.

"It was... interesting," I told her simply.

She smiled at me as she pulled up a chair, sitting beside me. "Interesting in what way, dear?"

"Well, another vampire came in tonight." It was obvious I was not doing good with hiding how I was feeling on this, because Gran looked slightly shocked when I smiled and my fangs were still out. I thought that over the years we were all getting better at handling my new life now, but sometimes Gran forgot and still bothered to make me breakfast in the morning despite me wanting a blood instead. But all in all, I supposed we had all adapted quite fine to it.

"You liked this other vampire?" she asked me, knowingly. "I can tell. It isn't everyday I see you smile like that, with your fangs on show!"

I felt a bit self-conscious then and I touched them with my fingers. "Yeah, I don't know what's wrong with me tonight. They wouldn't seem to go back in which was... problematic to say the least."

"Was that because you liked the vampire that much?"

"Maybe." I shrugged, forcing myself to swallow down a mouthful of my drink. It was weird; I noticed how lacking the flavor was in comparison to actual real human blood, like the bit I had tasted tonight of Denise and Mack. TruBlood was nothing compared to real blood. God, just even reminiscing about the taste made my eyes focus on my Grandmother's neck, at the pulsing arteries there. I took more notice of the sounds then; How blood would gush and flow, like a brilliant waterfall. It was dangerous of me, and with effort, I drew my eyes away, focusing on my bottle of blood instead.

"Was he much different from you?" Gran was more than just simply curious, I could tell that much.

"He was actually." I tried hard to think of an easy way to put it. "For one thing, he would know more about this... lifestyle than I would. And I don't think he's as true to the bottle as I am."

"Well, the way you are living is the right way," Gran said, sounding firm and strong on that. "It's better this way, dear. I don't want my Granddaughter murdering every person she sees in sight."

"Of course not." I tried to sound horrified at the thought.

"You don't want to lose yourself, the real you from before," she went on. She had thought about this a lot. "What happened to you, you had no say in. When that vampire did what he did to you, changing you as you are now with your virus... well, you have to always remember who you were before it. And like any person with an addiction, you've got to nip it in the bud and suppress those urges."

_Virus..._ That was how Gran always put it. I was just simply infected with a virus that made me bloodthirsty.

And like every other time, I'd nod and hum in agreement. "Oh, I couldn't agree more, Gran. I've got to nip it in the bud." But oftentimes, I felt like I was almost fooling myself. I was no longer human- no matter how many times I had tried to make myself believe that I was.

I could always pretend to be who I was before, but I could never completely get rid of that part, deep inside of me. That part of me that craved drinking human blood.

When I went to bed that night, I was restless, turning and tossing in the sheets. I could hear Gran, all the way from in the other room. Her heart, teasing me, taunting me. No matter how many times I tried to block it out or cover my ears in my pillow, it never seemed to help any. It was the biggest mistake I could have made, in licking up those bits of blood tonight. Because now that I had my first taste of the real stuff, I was craving it, big time.

If I didn't love my Grandmother so much, who knew what I was capable of doing to her? Sometimes I got scared that I was going to lose total control and just feed on whoever was closest to me. But with what Gran said, I had to nip it in the bud. Often, when I felt like doing that to somebody, I had to think real deeply about the people who were in their lives. They'd have people that would miss them, people that would have their heartbroken if I had killed their loved one. I thought about their children crying, their poor sad little faces, and that was enough for me. That got me through and stopped me from feeding from them.

But with Mack and Denise, I hardly felt guilty about their deaths. Maybe that made me a terrible person? I didn't know. But I was real pleased they were dead, and I couldn't find it within me to feel so much as a morsel of guilt.

It was a Sunday next morning, so I got up and got dressed in my conservative clothes for Church. Yes, it was ridiculous, me going to Church, being what I was. But I did it before when I was just human, and Gran always insisted I should maintain a regular routine similar to what I had done before I had been inflicted with my virus.

The townsfolk used to believe I was crazy before, due to my telepathy. Now, they believed even more so.

Although everyone liked to pride themselves as non-judgmental forgiving people of the Lord, it certainly never felt that way, every time I attended Church of a Sunday. Soon as we got in people were darting me rude looks, wondering why I bothered to come, being what I was. Some thoughts were hurtful; deeming me a child of Satan and some refused to be near me out of fear I'd go suddenly crazy and slaughter them. Even after five years of attending religiously, it still didn't insult me any less.

Gran was great about it, though; She defended me actively if somebody dared to say anything rude to me. It still felt awkward as hell, though. No one wanted to sit by us every time we did come, so Gran and I would have an entire row of seats to ourselves. I enjoyed the extra space though.

Once it was done and over with, we all stood to leave. I was being polite in letting everyone go first before I stepped out into the line, and then it happened.

"Why does she bother coming here any longer when surely she knows she's evil? How do we know we are still safe coming here when she is here, too?" I heard one woman say to her friend, from far, far ahead of me.

"I got my crucifix on my chain, always in case for that reason alone," another woman said, fingering the silver crucifix pendant around her neck. Little did they know, a little cross wouldn't save them had I ever dared to murder them.

Gran patted me on my shoulder then, and when I glanced back to look at her, she gave me a reassuring smile and shook her head at me. "Don't you worry about them, pet. You just ignore them."

If only ignoring them was that easy...

"Maybe I shouldn't bother going to church anymore, Gran?" I asked her uncertainly once we got out of the stuffy building, cutting through the lawn. "Maybe everybody is right? I shouldn't come here anymore?"

"Nonsense. Don't you give them the satisfaction."

"Oh, I'm not. Sometimes it just... gets too much, you know? Like not only can I hear their thoughts, but I can hear what they are all saying about me, that I'm evil and that I don't belong coming to church anymore."

"You are not evil, Sookie, and you've got every right to live like they are."

"But I'm not like any of you anymore," I pointed out to her. "Maybe it's high time that I stopped fooling myself? I used to struggle to fit in when I was human with my gift, and now I got this, too. Sometimes I feel like I can't take it anymore!"

It was a bright and early morning, and I had to cover my eyes with my hand so I could see properly without having to strain them. A group of women, standing by their cars, gossiped and laughed over the idea of me sizzling up and erupting into flames. I just about broke into tears then.

"I've been like this for five years, Gran. Very nearly six." I could feel my throat tightening up, and I felt moisture gather in my eyes. "And not once during that time have I ever killed someone, yet everybody's treating me like I have! What did I do wrong to deserve them hating me so much?"

I wiped my eyes, and then I realized then what was happening. Blood smeared on the side of my hand

_"Oh, my god. What a total freak..."_

_"She ain't normal, crying blood for tears like that..."_

_"Can't she see we don't want her here anywhere near us anymore? Dumb little bitch."_

"You leave my Granddaughter alone," Gran was shouting loudly, slipping her arm over my shoulders, pulling me in close as we rushed to get to the car.

"Face it, Adele," Maxine Fortenberry said, "She don't belong here coming into the Lord's holy place and we shouldn't have to pretend to endure it when she does."

Gran helped me into the car and during the drive home, Gran said quite a few foul words that I hadn't heard her say before, shaking her head disdainfully. At least Gran and my brother were always there to defend me, but still, I could feel myself shutting down, losing it.

As I wiped the streaks of blood off my face, I saw something on one of the buildings; A flyer, which seemed like a sign to me. _Fangtasia, the bar with a bite,_ it said. I knew it was a vampire bar. And if I couldn't find success in trying to belong in the human community, then maybe I would go to a place with vampires, somewhere I actually probably did belong, and would not get judged unfairly for it.

Because after all, I was no longer a human. I could no longer fit into human society. And frankly, I was tired to death of being judged.

I was a vampire now. And this Fangtasia seemed like just the place where a vampire could go and fit in.

When we got home, I went straight up to my room, lying in bed for awhile. I couldn't seem to stop crying, silly of me as that was. Gran was real worried, and she'd knock every now and then, calling out to make sure I was alright. When my brother finally got in, Gran filled him in and I heard her heating up some blood in the microwave while Jason had the jug going for a hot drink. Then he came up, knocked a couple of times, and entered.

He was pretty shocked to see me sitting there on my bed, blood streaked around my eyes and my face. But he composed himself and swallowed loudly. He was holding two mugs- one synthetic blood for me, and another coffee with marshmallows for himself. He permitted himself to sit on the bed near me and handed me the mug of blood, which I sat up and took eagerly. After crying hysterically, I had worked up a big thirst, and I gave him a small smile to show him I appreciated it.

"I weren't sure if you wanted marshmallows or not in yours, sis," he said, and I laughed. He did it on purpose to cheer me up; knowing I couldn't have marshmallows in my drinks anymore, like I used to love.

I sighed wistfully. "You know I can't have marshmallows in my drinks anymore, Jason. But thanks for cheering me."

We sat for a couple of minutes awkwardly, sipping away at our drinks. Jason's mind was restless, wondering on what more to say to make me feel better. He was hopeless in situations like this.

"Well, I heard what happened. Gran filled me in. You alright?"

"I'll get over it, I guess," I said, with a shrug. "I just don't understand why people say they are such believers in the Lord and that they preach to love all your brothers and sisters, and your neighbors, and yet, they still judge you simply because your a member of the undead group now- like you had any say in it to begin with." It was therapeutic, talking and rambling on to Jason angrily about this, mainly because I knew he understood completely what I was trying to get at. It really made me feel better. "It just doesn't seem fair."

"Fuck 'em, sis. They ain't know nothing, they're just ignorant. You couldn't help what happened to you, and they ought to know that. Now that's why I don't bother going to church anymore. Hypocrites, the whole lot of them."

"Have you heard of a bar called Fangtasia?" I asked curiously. It had been eating my mind up for hours now.

"That vampire bar in Shreveport?" Jason sounded surprised I'd bothered to bring it up. "Yeah, I've heard about it. Why?"

"Well, I was kind of interested in going." He looked even more surprised by that. His eyebrows rose at me. "Just to check out what its like, and what... real vampires do and how they act. You want to come with me?"

"I don't know, sis." He was uncomfortable at the idea of that. "You sure you'd want me to?"

"Of course, I would!" Without thinking, I nudged him with my shoulder. Sometimes I forgot how strong I was, so when I did it, he very nearly jolted off the bed and his coffee spilled over his jeans. "Whoops, sorry. Sometimes I forget how strong I am now!"

Jason hissed and cringed in pain as his coffee scolded his legs but all I could do was laugh. It was almost an evil, malicious laugh, and we both were pretty much equally shocked by the sound of it.

"So, you want to come?" I asked eagerly. "Please, say you will! I don't want to go alone and I'd feel better if you did, too! It would be nice having somebody I know tagging along with me!"

"Well, alright," he surrendered after a moment. "Suppose I could. That way, I can act as your guardian. Any fangbangers try to hit on you, and I'll tell them to get the hell away from my little sister. Suppose it wouldn't hurt any, would it?"

I'd heard the term 'fangbanger' once or twice, but I wasn't entirely sure what it meant. "What exactly is a fangbanger again?" I asked him uncertainly.

Jason sipped at his drink eagerly. "Well, you know. Like... groupies but for vampires."

"Groupies?"

"Yeah, you know... They like being bitten and fucked. But by vampires. And, no offense, sis, but I'm not letting anyone go near you. No damn way."

"Like anyone would want to with me, fangbanger or otherwise, Jason!"

I punched him in the knee playfully, just brother and sister silliness. But I had obviously hurt him way more than I had intended to, yet again, because he yelped and rubbed his kneecap, like it was sore.

"So, what should I wear?" I got to my feet eagerly, pulling open my closet, showing Jason various dresses like he'd know anything about women's clothing. He was undecided on either one of my red strap dresses, or one of my black halter necks.

After careful consideration, he picked the black for me.

"Black's more of a vampire color, I think, sis."

Black it was. And for the first time in what felt like the entire time I had been a vampire, I actually felt excited and ready to embrace what I was.

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	6. Chapter 6

_**Chapter Six**_

Jason took a lot longer to dress and get ready than I did.

In about fifteen minutes, I had straightened my long blonde hair out, and had also put on a smearing of dark red lipstick to complete my look. I had rubbed on some moisturizer that had inbuilt tanning lotion combined with it on my legs and around my décolletage so I wouldn't look so pasty and I had even spritzed myself with a bit of Gran's perfume. Jason was right; The black dress definitely brought out my figure and made me look as vampire as I could possibly get. I was wearing black ankle boots with a small inch heel which put an extra added bit of height to my five foot six build. All of this took roughly just only fifteen minutes and when I got downstairs, Jason still was up in his room fixing up his hair with gel or ironing his T-shirt, who knew with him.

You heard boyfriend's complaining that their girls hog the bathroom, that they'd have to wait over half an hour while their girl got ready for the outing, but that was so not the case when it came to my brother.

I swear, Jason could be a girl himself sometimes. Women seemed to go nuts about him regardless of that fact.

"Oh wow, Sookie," Gran said in amazement while I dithered around in the kitchen with her, waiting. It wasn't very often her undead Granddaughter dressed to the nines for a night out on the town. "You look lovely. Where abouts was it that you and Jason were going to again?"

_Ah, crap. To tell or not to tell? _

Gran would have freaked had she known I was planning to head out to a vampire bar. She'd automatically assume I was intending to have an 'accident' or 'slip-up' tonight. Gran was very protective of me, if not overly so now. She'd stress throughout the night and worry that I'd accidentally kill somebody, especially seeing as we were heading out to a vampire bar, where humans and vampires mingle and, no doubt, there would be temptation left, right, and center. So knowing that, I decided to just pretend and make-up a story.

"Well, you know how Jason and I are lately. I thought it'd be nice if we go do something together, like old times." I gave her a sweet smile, pleased beyond words that my fangs weren't out. "I thought we should catch up and see what's happening in each other's lives."

Gran believed it and ate up my words quickly; She made a noise, like it was endearing of us, and even patted my arm and kissed me on the cheek. Gran was all for family, sibling-bonding time. Of course, it was far from the truth. Jason and I weren't heading out together to get some sibling bonding time. More like, Jason was acting as my wingman in case I got too bloodlusty with all the Fangbangers.

After what had felt like years had passed, Jason finally came downstairs, dressed and ready to go. He was being the casual yet dressy man tonight; Dark denim jeans, polished shoes, ironed baby blue dress shirt which was tight enough so that any interested women could see how toned and athletic he was under the shirt. Jason was all about capturing the opposite sex's attention.

Laughing happily, Gran outstretched her arms and pulled the both of us in for a group hug. It was a bit awkward but she told us how proud she was that we were taking initiative to get some quality time out together, like a good brother and sister should. She said our Mom and Dad up in Heaven would be proud, God bless them. I was pretty sure they wouldn't be 'proud' that their daughter was now of the vampire persuasion, only it wasn't like I had any say in it, did I? Jason stared at me quizzically at the 'sibling bonding quality time' bit, but I just shook my head and gave him a warning look. Gran just could not know.

Once we got all buckled up in Jason's pickup truck, he said while reversing, "What was that all about? All that family bonding shit Gran was saying to us?"

"I lied and told Gran we were heading out together for some quality time, not that we aren't and not that it isn't good to be hanging out with you. I just couldn't exactly tell the truth now about us going to a vampire bar, could I?" Gran was standing on the porch, right as we spoke, waving us off. Jason and I faked smiling and waved at her, all happy brother-sister bonding time. "I mean, you know how she gets, Jason. She would have freaked out and accused me of having intentions to deliberately go off course and feed from somebody tonight. Pardon me if I wanted to spare her the worry for once."

Jason was staring at himself in the mirror, smoothing down his hair. "Hey, sis. How does my hair look?"

Typical. "God, Jason. You never listen to what I'm saying, do you?" I folded my arms across my chest, glaring outside the window. "I swear, you zone out half the time, being more preoccupied with your appearance than what I'm telling you!"

"I am listening to you, I swear! But do I look all right?"

"Shouldn't I be the one asking you if I look all right?"

"You look... good." It was an awkward compliment. "I mean, you look very... vampire."

"Thanks." I frowned. "I think."

The closer we got to Fangtasia, the more anxious I felt. I wasn't entirely sure what to expect.

It was incredibly busy when we got there. The parking lot was full and we had to go around and around in circles until we found a decent enough parking spot. Once we slid into one, Jason had another moment of vanity in smoothing back his hair and straightening the collar on his shirt. I knew what that meant.

"Before we head in, I feel like we should go through some ground rules," I told him sternly. "Under no circumstances are you to leave me by myself, Jason. If you see a Fangbanger trying to get me to bite them, you intervene and haul my ass away, you hear me?"

"Got it."

"One drink an hour for you. You are so not getting drunk on me! And no women either! You're here for me, not to get laid and pick up. Got it?"

Jason was not happy with my set of demands, but he complied sullenly. Then we got out, I brushed my hair off my shoulders and clasped onto my clutch tightly, and off we went. Even the line was busy to get in, and Jason whistled as we lined up.

"Well, at least they're doing good for themselves," he muttered. "Guess everybody wants a bit of vampire in their life."

Once our time came, we were carded at the door by a female vampire. I could just tell she was exactly like me, only better. She was the real deal, and I couldn't deny it, I felt rather envious of her. She was the vampire I would have loved to be; She dressed all feminine and pretty, yet she still retained a dangerous quality to her. She looked like she could daintily pierce through your spleen with her fangs. Her hair was straight and blonde, with one intricate little braid on the left side. She was wearing a very nice black dress, that looked kind of like leather, very vampire-like, and massive heels to boot. Very impressive, indeed.

I handed her my I.D, and she scrutinized my photo for a couple of nerve-wracking seconds. Then she arched a finely sculpted eyebrow at me, threw her head back, and laughed, right at me. It was a good belly-laugh that lasted half a minute, and left me feeling mighty self-conscious. Was I ridiculous to her? Something inspiring laughter? Seemed so.

"Um. Something funny?" I asked nervously.

"Oh, he's gonna love this," the woman said cryptically, confusing me. Then she handed back my I.D and looked Jason's way, really giving him the once-over. I couldn't tell whether she liked what she saw in him. "This your human?" she asked me, eyeing my brother with interest.

"Um, yeah. He's a human," I stated awkwardly, not following at all. "And he's my big bro."

"Whatever floats your boat." She offered me no further explanation with that. She simply just made a harrumphing noise and moved out of the way, waving us in. Jason and I exchanged a bewildered look with each other as I hooked my arm through Jason's nervously. I didn't want to risk losing him, not for a second. I needed him by my side at all times tonight, and I sure as hell was not going to risk it.

Once we got fully inside, I felt a conflicting array of emotions overflow me. It was like an amazing vampire theme park, or haunted house. There were framed pictures on the walls of every vampire movie on screen, from Dracula to the Lost Boys. What more, the bar was full. Both human and vampire clients filled the room, and their different scents mingled. I noticed a couple of people turn and look me and Jason over, their eyes flickering up and down us with interest. It just made me hold on to my brother that bit tighter.

"This is amazing," I laughed to my brother in delight. "This is definitely my kinda place, if I do say so myself."

I noticed a guy was paying me an extra bit of attention than I would have preferred. He was dressed like a vampire-wannabe, in chains and black and leather. Hell, he even had two skull studs in his ears, silver. I must have found something about him appealing, because when I smiled at him, somewhat coyly and shyly, my fangs took the unfortunate moment to come down. His interest in me heightened then, and as I looked away quickly, I would have blushed, had I still been able to do so.

_"Holy shit, she's one of them,"_ I heard the man about my age or so think through his mind. Pretty sure he was wearing eyeliner, which made his blue eyes stand out piercingly. _"Wonder if she'd be convinced into biting me... Love the fucking feeling, oh the euphoria..." _Feeling nervous by the nature of his thoughts, I huddled closer to Jason's side, taking his arm and bringing it over my shoulders so he'd be restraining me from following through on temptation without even knowing it. _"Damn, nah. She's with that guy. Well, I don't know... Still looks a virgin to me..."_

And yeah, he most definitely was not just talking about hymens but the fact I was a virgin when it came to biting an actual human and feeding from them. Who knew it could be that obvious just simply by looking at someone?

Unsettled by the man's eagerness and the imagery that came along with his thoughts of me biting him, I turned to my brother. "Can we head up to the bar? I'm finding myself thirsty." I had a bit of a lisp going, thanks to my fangs, as I do. So Jason was not the least bit surprised when he looked over at me and saw I had full fang on display.

"Sure, sis. No problem. You wanna order?"

"Might as well," I decided, shrugging.

"Then can you get me a Bud as well?"

We got up to the bar, squeezing through the crowd to get closer. The bartender saw me coming at once, and he ignored everybody else to give me his attention. I wondered if he believed vampires ought to get first preference then. He had long dark hair and tattoos all down his arms.

"Good evening, lovely." He nodded at me once, and as he spoke, I saw his fangs were out, too. We were having a fang party. "Don't believe I've seen you here before. What can I get you tonight, beautiful?"

I leaned closer over the counter so he could hear me better. Not that it was necessary. "Hi, there. Can I please have a TruBlood, O Neg, and also a Budweiser beer please?" I shoved my chin in Jason's direction, only he wasn't looking. His eyes were straying, checking out women in their Gothic get-up. So damn typical.

It didn't take long until he had my red bottle of Tru Blood, O Neg, on the counter before me. Then he was uncapping Jason's beer, shooting a very strange yet menacing look at him. What was all that about?

"You ought to teach him to stay more in line," the bartender said, just above the music so only I could hear him. "Most of the vampires here don't mind seeing that kind of shit; A vampire teaching their human. You ought to tell him he'll become a real meal if he can't stop straying, beautiful lady."

I stared at him, narrowing my eyes. "I beg your pardon?" I asked uncertainly. "I'm not so sure I'm following?"

"Your human," the bartender said, more clearly. When Jason turned back to look between us, the bartender gave him a rude look. "You ought to teach him to respect you. Clearly he's only with you for the biting. He's the biggest Fangbanger, if I ever saw one. I mean, look at him; His eyes keep straying at every female vampire in here."

"Excuse me, but he is my brother," I pointed out loudly. Something told me I was probably going to have to say that constantly while in Fangtasia. "Eww, that'd be incest!"

"Brother, human, meal. Call him whatever you want, but if I were you, I'd teach him some manners into how to treat you better."

"Um, okay?" That left me with nowhere else to go conversationally, so I simply forced a smile at him while Jason handed him some cash for our drinks. Even then, the bartender was still glaring at Jason like he was little more than scum between his toes, so feeling protective, I handed Jason his beer and shoved him away along with me to find a table.

"What the hell was all that about, sis?" Jason asked, as we looked around. "That vamp looked as if he wanted to smack me across my face or something?"

"No idea. But he was implying that you were my human or my... my fangbanger or something. So weird and so frigging gross."

Finally, we found a seat and we sat with our drinks. I was trying to maintain conversation with Jason, but his eyes would drift away, perving on a few women as they danced together. After a while, I gave up and we just sat in silence, sipping away at our drinks.

I couldn't decide where to look; My eyes just wanted to look everywhere, all at once. Being in this bar was a real treat to my eyes. And my ears.

"_God, he's so sexy... Kneel down at his feet..."_

_"Mm mm, wonder if she'll like me? I'm juicy enough, right?"_

_"Damn, she's fine. Working those hips."_ That was Jason.

And then I saw him. My blood would have gone cold, if it wasn't already. I saw him at the same time I was taking a sip of my O Neg, and it went down the wrong way, and I made a terrible face and coughed a little. Which made him make a disgusted face in return. My Sheriff Northman, my partner in crime- when it came to the Rattray's, anyhow. He was sitting up alone in a chair, hands gripping the armrests tight as a vice. And he was... staring straight at me. I could have got up out of my seat, ran up to him and gave him a good dime's worth of licking right then. It ought to be a sin, how lickable he was. Tonight he was wearing leather pants and a black shirt, sleeveless, showing off tightly tacked muscles and gorgeous bulging biceps. He looked as though he'd gotten his hair foiled recently _and oh_, he was like ice cream to humans. Downright delicious.

_Now don't I have a lot of problems thinking a man is lickable. _

Without even realizing I was doing it, I was licking my lips with my tongue. He made a little movement then, a little wiggle in his chair. Then I felt disgusted with myself and a total fool, so I brought my eyes away with effort. Jason was staring right at me, and a chuckle of amusement got caught in his throat.

"You like that guy or something?" Jason could be very observant, unfortunately. "Hey, ain't that that big guy who was in Merlotte's? The big bully that was sizing you up?"

Lifting one hand off the armrest, my sheriff made a gesture to me and my brother. _Come here._

And like my seat was suddenly burning coal singeing my butt, I stood to attention like a soldier. _Yes, don't mind if I do lick you again, Sir._


	7. Chapter 7

_**TB belongs to its respective owners. I own nothing.**_

_**Wow, thank you all so much! I feel so flattered and mind blown, you are all so lovely and amazing! Hope you enjoy this one, and to all you mothers out there, hope you have a wonderful Mother's Day!**_

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_**Chapter Seven**_

Jason stood slowly from his chair and, in yet another vain moment, he smoothed his hair down again with his palms. "You want me to come with?" he asked me, his dark eyes crinkled with uncertainty. "Or should I just hang around here and keep an eye on your drink for you?" I could tell Jason wanted to just hang around at the table where he was, with not being all that keen to approach my sheriff. Honestly, it was probably better for him if he didn't and remained right where he was. I wasn't certain whether Sheriff Northman was going to be a dangerous risk to my older brother or not.

I glanced up at him again. He made another gesture impatiently- pointing at me, then at himself, with a forefinger. I was testing him by keeping him waiting, apparently.

"I think its probably best if you wait here and mind our drinks, Jason," I decided hesitantly, and I straightened up my dress, making sure it was perfectly in place and around my knees. "After all, I'm not so sure what he wants and I probably wouldn't be able to protect you if he so much as even starts thinking of hurting you."

Jason held his hands up at me. "Hey, no problem. I'm happy to stay right here and enjoy the show."

Nodding, I started making the walk towards where he was sitting, a while away from me. It felt like the longest walk as I pushed myself through the crowd that had formed on the dance floor, and I felt this weird little knot in my chest grow and grow with every step I took, reaching closer to him. I might have also been giving myself a stern pep talk, telling myself not to lick him. For once, I would liked to have seemed totally normal around him. I was determined not to have a slip-up and lick him, like I had last night while we were dealing with the Rats, not only once but twice.

_There would be no third time of licking him,_ I told myself, running my palms down my sides nervously as I met and held his eyes. I would not be licking him tonight, my tongue would remain responsibly plastered to the roof of my mouth. I would act normal; A normal vampire, who does not lick her Sheriff. _That would be me tonight, I would be that woman_, I told myself. _I would be a woman completely in control of myself this evening._

"Sookie Stackhouse," he said, nodding once at me when I finally stood directly in front of his chair, wringing my hands at my sides. And good heavens, did my name sound wonderful coming from his voice. It sounded deeper tonight, like he was making himself sound purposefully masculine. I loved it. But not as much as I loved how he had bothered to memorize my name.

It was lucky my fangs had already come out, because they would have now, just at the appealing sound of how he said my name in his voice. It certainly spared me the embarrassment of me having to conceal a fang-boner in front of him.

"Sheriff Northman," I said back, but in a disgracefully breathless voice.

Then the bartender was there, tearing through my vision, carrying an old rickety chair and placing it by his. "There you go, lovely," he said to me, and I forced myself to smile at him thankfully. My mouth was all twitchy; I was that nervous.

"Please, sit," my Sheriff advised while stretching out his long legs, gesturing towards the empty chair with a flourish of his hand. "Join me."

Since I couldn't see any good reason not to, I climbed up the stage, being careful not to trip in my ankle boots, and I sat, resting both elbows on each battered arm of the chair. When I glanced over at Sheriff Northman, I found he was giving me the once-over, his eyes taking in my dress and my thighs, more importantly. Belatedly, I realized that while sitting, my dress had ridden up and was bunched around my upper thighs. People at the dance floor were probably copping an eyeful of my underwear and self-consciously, I yanked my dress down and corrected it, trying to appear careless all the while, making sure my eyes never left his face. His gaze lingered on my knees heatedly, and I brought one leg over the other quickly, crossing them, hopefully in a very womanly and sexy way.

I heard him clear his throat hoarsely and with enough sense, he forced his eyes away, focusing on my face instead, which was only polite. Then he wetted his lips and I saw the tips of his fangs while he did so.

"What brings you here to Fangtasia tonight?"

"I saw a flier on a building on my way home from church actually," I said, deciding to be honest. "I felt curious to see what Fangtasia was all about and how I'm supposed to act in the real world so, long story short, here I am..." I shrugged, letting my eyes find my brother from around the room.

To my relief, Jason was still sitting where I had left him, at our table, guarding my bottle of synthetic blood. Giving me a goofy grin, he stood from his chair to give me the two thumbs up, something that made my uneasiness sky rocket. I wished he wouldn't make such a fuss out of this. I wished he'd just go back to people watching and his perving.

"Is that your human?" Eric asked, sounding curious but also something else. Wasn't completely sure what that something else was. When my eyes flitted back to my Sheriff, I was horrified to find he was looking at Jason, too. My stomach clenched. "I believe you said, at our last meeting, that you were mainstreaming? That you only drank the synthetic blood and that you did not feed on humans?"

"I did, and that's true," I explained to him, trying to keep calm. He was not very happy about something, I could tell that much; There was an edge in his voice that was not there before, but only when he asked about my brother. His expression was very serious and his jaw was clenched. "He might be a human, but he's... _not my_ human. He's actually my biological brother, I'm his sister. I don't understand why everyone here keeps asking whether he is my human? He's simply my brother."

"He's your brother?" Eric repeated sarcastically. "Your brother is a human?"

"Um, yeah. He is," I stated frigidly. I was getting pretty tired of everyone commenting about it. First the female vampire that had carded me, then the bartender. And now Sheriff Northman, to boot. "Don't you remember what I said when I filled out that form for you? I was turned five years ago, and I still live with my human family before I was made into what I am now. Jason is my older brother." When he simply stared at me, I sighed loudly, muttering under my breath, "God, can't you even see the resemblance at all?"

It was probably not smart of me, talking so bad-temperedly at my Sheriff, but I couldn't help it. I was sick and tired of people in the bar assuming something about me, a vampire, simply because I had turned up with my brother, a human.

After a couple of stressful seconds had passed by us, Sheriff Northman at last nodded. He sat one elbow on the armrest of his own chair, brought his hand up, and started stroking around his chin with his fingertips. It took all I had not to get fixated on that gorgeous mouth and those rocking pair of fangs of his. "I see," he said quietly, fortunately sounding as if he believed me now. Hell, at least somebody did. "So you live with your human brother and your human family?" It seemed simply as if he was trying to understand on a clearer level. I couldn't exactly fault him for that.

"With my human brother and my human Grandmother, yes. Just two humans, although... most of the time I consider myself a human as well."

Clearly he found me saying that funny; It tickled him. He made a grunting noise of amusement, and it appeared that he was having trouble stifling a smile at me. I had no idea why, though.

"Is something funny, Sir?" I asked him, not bothering to hide my annoyance. The 'sir' was just thrown in at the top of my head to remain respectful.

He made another throaty noise of amusement, while his expression remained closed off and emotionless. He was a big grunter, this one was. Goddamn it, it turned me on like nothing else. I had to squeeze my legs together, real tight, as shameful as that was to have to do in front of him.

"You don't actually believe that, do you?" he asked me, with some amusement.

"Believe what?"

"That you are like them?" He gestured with two fingers towards the humans on the dance floor below us, then started rubbing his chin with them again. "That you are a human, like them? That we are like humans?"

His question startled me and I was quiet for a good few seconds, trying to work out how I felt. "I do," I admitted quietly. "But that's probably because I live with my Grandmother. She's helping me to keep good hold of who I was before I was changed into what I am now. Honestly, I can't see no other way to live but this way."

"Then you're fooling yourself, sweetheart," he replied, his voice going delightfully husky. "_We_ are better than they are."

"Maybe you think so," I said, shrugging. "But I don't, I really don't feel that way. Maybe that's because everyone around me is human, the old friends I had from before? My family? I don't know, and I can't be sure. But its the way I feel, honest to God." Then I added, after a moment of thought, "But maybe if I was hanging around the person that had changed me, and they taught me about how to... live this way, then I would feel a bit differently. Who knows?"

Sheriff Northman nodded at my response, seemingly satisfied with it, and he shifted slightly in the chair, positioning his body so that he was closer to me. The bartender had placed our chairs so close that as he rested his hand against the armrest, it touched the whole length of mine. I had to grip the end of my armrest with my hand then, because I felt awfully tempted to move it over and take hold of his hand, to hold it with mine.

I had never felt this way before, about anybody. I even felt tempted to put my mouth near his ear, to daringly suggest in a fake seductive voice that he had best show me the way into another room where we had a little bit of privacy to ourselves.

I wanted to tear his clothes off his body, and I wanted him to do the same in tearing my dress off with his big hands into shreds. I wanted him inside me. I wanted to hear the sound of our moans intermingling together. I wanted to rake my fingernails down his bare chest, feel his tongue on my skin. Most of all, I wanted to lick him all over, whether he be covered with human blood or otherwise. The fact that I felt that way, towards another person, it was terrifying on me.

"Yes," Sheriff Northman said vehemently, starting some conversation I didn't know we were even having. I was too focused on what I wanted to do, what my body wanted to do. I no longer wanted to talk with him, but to do... other things. When I forced my eyes over to him, he was staring out at the crowd of humans in the room, his teeth gritted. His fangs were no longer out. Mine were. For some reason, I found that mighty disappointing. "What you have told me, about how you were abandoned by your Maker the night you first awoke, whomever he or she is, is both tragic and disheartening." He sent a glance my way quickly. "Do you regret it?"

"Um, regret what?"

"That your Maker did that to you, whoever he or she might be. Do you regret that you have been unable to have a fulfilling relationship with them, as their progeny?"

He sure was asking me some tricky questions. Was I sad to have woken up, only to discover that not only was I made a vampire, but that the one that who was responsible had run off? You bet I had been, at first.

I couldn't remember everything about that night, five years ago; Some of it was patchy, my recollection, but I had been terrified, when I woke, under hard, dark, and heavy soil. I had started panicking, because I was that low down in the earth, so immersed in dirt that it felt as if it was crushing me alive. It had been a real battle; Digging myself out of that dirt, and honestly, it had felt like a nightmare to me, at the time.

Sometimes I did wonder why whomever was responsible had neglected me._ Did they have a change of heart? Feel I was no longer good enough, at least not enough to properly tutor me on how to live my new life? Or were they just being plain sadistic and I was another one of their many victims?_

I had wondered about it millions of times, over the years. _What kind of asshole changes someone into a vampire, then deserts them? What kind of asshole just up and runs only to leave the person completely disorientated by their surroundings, having just dug themselves out of dirt? _

It made me feel not only angry, but depressed and lonely as hell, whenever I thought about it, what had happened to me. I suppose that was why I had decided to rarely think about it now; It just hurt too much, and seeing as I could never be getting a good enough answer from the vampire that had made me anytime soon, I had made a pact to myself, early on in, to try not to dwell on what had happened that night. I had found my way back home, to Gran's, after Gran had put out a missing person's search for me because I had vanished that full night. Next night, I was disorientated and confused, covered head to toe in smears of dirt, and I had somehow stumbled my way home.

So imagine my Grandmother's shock and terror when I had suddenly shown up on the doorstep, crying and dirty, and terribly confused. Gran had put two and two together when, instance she saw me, I had smelled her and heard the gushing of her bloodstream, and my fangs had ran down. She had realized just what had happened to me then; I hadn't been raped, or kidnapped. I had been turned and abandoned, by some stranger vampire I couldn't even remember dealing with, not even to this day.

She had raced back inside, called Jason, and told him to get lots and lots of bottles of synthetic blood from the stores. And thank goodness that she had; To me, that was why I saw Gran and Jason as still my true, real family. Because the vampire that had turned me, they had abandoned me, like I was something they didn't want anymore. So thank goodness I had my life with Gran and Jason to fall back on.

"I can't say I do regret it, not knowing who my Maker was," I admitted sincerely. "They clearly didn't want me, or felt I was good enough to be their... their vampire child. They had neglected me. I mean, I woke up covered in dirt, completely alone and disorientated about how I came to be buried in the ground, no less what I had been made into. They made that choice to not know me; So why should I ought to feel regretful over something_ they_ decided, in neglecting me?"

I was so passionate and angry on this that my voice was unsteady. Sheriff Northman was watching me attentively, absorbing my words in.

"Far as I'm concerned, my Grandmother and my brother_ are_ my family, whether they be human or otherwise, because they were there for me. _They_ helped me, and_ they_ still wanted me, despite it all. I don't regret not knowing my Maker at all. But I can't say that there aren't times where I resent whoever made me like this, that I don't hate them on some level. I wish I knew why they did what they did in turning me. I wish I knew why they deserted me and decided I was not good enough for them. I truly, deeply hate that they couldn't have at least shown me the decency of teaching me how to be this way with my new life before they up and left. But at the same time, its their loss."

It seemed he was feeling just as heated on the topic as I was.

He nodded fiercely at my words a couple of times, then when I was done, he said through gritted teeth strongly while putting his face closer to mine, "What they did to you, in abandoning you without even so much as showing you the true courtesy of teaching you the ways of being a vampire, it is _sacrilege. _To be a Maker and making the choice to turn a human into a vampire should not be taken lightly, by any vampire, yet he or she did so."

He jabbed his forefinger into the armrest of his chair roughly to stress that point home.

"Myself, for instance; I have been a vampire for over a millennium and yet I have only decided to turn a human _once_ in all that time, and that is with my progeny Pam. I _strongly believe_ that with turning a human into a vampire, _you do not_ just simply abandon them like they are little more than dogs or newborn babies. To do that, it is cruelty. It is like a human giving birth to a child and then dumping it on the street, giving it no chance to develop the necessary skills it needs in order to survive and flourish."

I was so flattered that he felt so outraged by it all, that I actually felt deeply touched. It was just so nice to have somebody express how unfair it was themselves. He was so angry and invested in voicing his opinion that his eyes were ablaze and intense, peering deeply into mine. I wouldn't have been surprised if sparks had started flying from his eyes.

"And do you know your Maker?" I asked him, curiously.

"I do. His name is Godric. I have not been in association with him for over two hundred years now, yet I remain fiercely loyal to him. However, if our circumstances were similar to that of yours, I wouldn't be so certain where my loyalty stood if he had abandoned me. I could not imagine doing that, to anyone, least of all Pam. To me, I believe that becoming a maker is an eternal commitment, one you don't just bail out of once the turning process is complete. To be a Maker is the most rewarding opportunity in the world, and what he or she has done to you, it is... _sacrilege_. Blasphemy." His voice was so low with disgust, the words came out a deep growl. It was super sexy, and to be honest, the urge to jump on him and tear his clothes off right then grew even more profound for me. "To be a Maker is greater than any marriage, deeper than any human bond, in my perspective. It-"

Without thinking and swept up, I lifted my hand up and curled it around the back of his neck, holding him still, leaned over, and cut his heated words off by pressing my lips into his.

_Wow, that is so sexy... Two vampires kissing... Get a room... Damn, she's so lucky... I'd kill myself for the chance to get to do that..._

It was an impulsive decision, and obviously I wasn't thinking very clearly or rationally. It just shut him up wonderfully though, and as his lips stilled under mine, I could sense both his shock and confusion over me doing it. Sure, it was stupid of me, but goddamn it, it felt so good.

I had most definitely not felt this way, not ever before; An instantaneous, senseless attraction to somebody.

I raked my fingers through the short hairs at the back of his neck, I heard him make a rumbling startled noise from deep, deep inside the lower parts of his chest, and then to my surprise, he put one hand behind the back of my head and was keeping me close, too. My lips parted and so did his, then he was massaging my tongue with his. Simply by us kissing, it was no difficult guess to make on who was strongest out of the two of us; Our tongues moved as if we were battling with them, and I could feel the power of his tongue, in comparison to mine.

As we both turned our heads to the side to deepen the kiss, both of our fangs clicked together, like they were greeting each other. A low moan left the base of my throat and he grunted in response, which sounded oddly like a lion growling.

_Go Sookie... damn, never knew she had it in her... Must really fancy the big guy..._

Jason's thoughts marred through what I felt was a heavenly moment, and suddenly, I became self-consciously aware that we were not alone. I had no particular desire for my brother to have to see me French kissing another man, although Jason was hardly coy in the slightest when it came to telling me intimate details about his latest hookup from time to time, as if I actually cared how good the woman was in bed. What more, we were actually in Fangtasia, and it was a busy night, humans were around us watching, I was no fan of public displays of affection and found it nasty and cheap normally, and this vampire was my Sheriff.

He was my Sheriff! Powerful and older than me. I wasn't supposed to be kissing him, no less lusting after him!

Reminding myself of that and how irresponsible I was being, it was the equivalent to spraying myself with cold water, and I placed my hands on his chest, pushing him away. The moment our lips disengaged when he fell back into his chair loudly due to me giving him a good old shove, without looking his way, I got to my feet and stepped down the stage, rushing straight towards where Jason was sitting. We had to leave the bar. _Immediately._

I didn't want to see the look of disgust that was inevitably on my Sheriffs face over the fact that I had just kissed him; He had looked repulsed those two times I had licked him, so why wouldn't he look repulsed now? I spared myself the embarrassment, grabbed Jason by the arm forcefully, and dragged him to his feet, out of Fangtasia.

What the hell was wrong with me, when it came to this vampire?

**_Hope you enjoyed this one? Suggestions are welcome. Should Eric become her surrogate maker? Should he invite her to Dallas to meet Godric at his nest and for Godric, being as old and ancient as he is, have understanding that she is a rare form of fairy-vampire hybrid? I'd love to know!_**


	8. Chapter 8

_**Thank you all so much!**_

_**You constantly amaze me with how kind you are! Thank you for the reviews, I loved them! Hoping you enjoy this one lol!**_

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_**Chapter Eight**_

We got in Jason's pickup and out of Fangtasia's parking lot to make the drive towards home faster than you could say "Heaven help me." Jason was pushing high speeds and the motor was revving something shocking, but I couldn't care less. I just wanted to get home as quickly as possible. I was also petrified that Sheriff Northman would be on our tail, but every time I glanced behind my seat, I couldn't see anybody tailing us.

I was freaking out, big time. I couldn't believe how I had acted in front of my sheriff, yet again. I thought I was starting to realize now that whenever I was around him, I tended to lose total control and do something highly inappropriate to him. He turned me into every bit the horn-dog Jason was; A sexual beast who just wanted to do nasty things to him. Usually, I was never this impulsive and ordinarily I had good restraint. But while being around my sheriff, everything had felt heightened; Like I couldn't concentrate on anything else but on the very tempting urges to jump his bones. Weren't I just crazy?

"Keep on driving," I warned Jason while peering out the window around us, for what felt like the millionth time I had done so.

I was feeling all antsy, very much like I imagined how a person would feel doing crack for the first time- which I would never do, as I was strongly opposed to taking drugs, thank you very much. I felt all twitchy, and I couldn't even sit still in my seat. I wanted to die. To really, really die. Why couldn't vampires just go ahead and die of embarrassment? I covered my hands over my face and made a little noise of despair. Then I peeked through my fingers over at my brother while he drove, who looked quite unfairly calm about everything considering.

"Jesus, Sook. You need to calm the hell down. It wasn't so bad, was it?"

"Um, I'm pretty sure it was. I don't know what's wrong with me. I just... I don't know. All I know is that I wish I could die right now. Like really, really die."

"There ain't nothing wrong with you," he said quietly. I had to admit, him telling me that was reassuring. But he was my brother, and it was something he had to say. "There isn't nothing wrong with what you did. You like that vampire. It's no biggie. If I were you, I just mightn't of kissed him in front of all those other people, is all."

"That's the problem, though," I told him, "I couldn't seem to control my impulses. It was just too strong; The urge to kiss him. And, not only did I want to kiss him, but I... I wanted to do other things as well." Realizing I was being rather immature about all of this, I straightened my shoulders, removed my hands from my face, and shoved them under my legs instead. "I've never felt this way before, about anybody. And you know me, Jason; If I was in any right state of mind, I never would have made out with him in front of all those people in that bar. It must be because of what I am now? My... my urges must be heightened and intensified, especially my... my sexual ones?" I was not all that proud to have to talk about sexual impulses with my big brother, but hey, if anyone knew anything about all of that, it'd be Jason, best of all.

"Well, I'm sure that's... normal, right?" Jason cringed uncertainly. "I know when I was seeing Maudette Picken's last night, she told me that with vamps, they can be a bit full-on. She also said that in a magazine, they did this article where they were saying having sex with a vampire was one of the things you ought to do before you die. I'm assuming you'd die after partaking in sex with them, but... it'd count for vampires too, right?"

I stared at Jason blankly. He could have been talking in a different language for all the sense his words gave me. Was he trying to be nice and to calm me down- or what?

"I suppose, what I'm trying to say here, is that you're stressing over nothing, sis."

"How so?" I asked him slowly.

"Well, that vampire... when you two, uh, kissed, when you got up he stood from his chair and tried to grab your hand to pull you back, only you were too fast for him." I couldn't tell whether Jason was just playing me like a fiddle or not, but he looked sincere. And embarrassed for having had to point it out to me. "I'm guessing he was all for the kissing, too. I mean, you ought to have seen the look on his face!"

"I didn't have to see the look on his face, Jason," I pointed out confidently. "I know what that look was. And it was nothing else but sheer repulsion."

"No, it weren't repulsion in the slightest, Sook. I swear it wasn't!" A nervous chuckle got caught in Jason's throat. "He more so looked like he maybe wanted to grab you cave-man style, and carry you off into another room." My brother was actually flustered, which was saying something. Jason hardly ever was the flustered type. He couldn't even look me directly in the eye and I saw his cheeks go ruddy. "He wanted to get all cave-man style with you. Or should I say... vampire-on-vampire style?"

I felt the skepticism on my face. I didn't believe Jason. Not for a second. "You're lying to me," I accused, enraged. "I know you are. You're just trying to make me feel better, I know it!"

"No, I'm not, sis. I'm telling the honest to God fucking truth, I swear!"

"I can't believe you," I told him seriously. "I just can't. I know you're making this up to make me feel better!"

"Well, fine then," he said, grudgingly. "Don't believe me then. But he did kiss you back, didn't he? Isn't that a sign enough that he was into you just as much as you were into him?"

That comment made me pause and take a moment to think it over deeply. Jason was right; He certainly had kissed me back. He had put his hand there, behind my head to keep me in place. But then I recalled those dreadful two times that I had licked him, and I recalled with vivid recollection how repulsed he was afterwards. I could just see it; So clearly, the repulsion on his face. It seemed more likely that he was repulsed by me kissing him than him being just as affected by me as I was with him, which was what Jason was trying to feed me with. He was trying to feed me a shovel load of manure. What bullcrap.

"Well, regardless of what you say, thanks for being a good brother and for being there for me tonight." It meant a real lot to me; Jason coming out with me. We didn't do stuff together very often and despite how crazy it was tonight, and how mortifying, I had somewhat enjoyed it. Jason pulled up into our driveway halfway. I could tell he didn't have plans to come inside tonight. "You gonna come in and talk to Gran?"

"Nah, I got a date tonight." Already, he was looking at himself in the mirror while ruffling up his hair. "Maudette texted me while you were up there flirting with that big vampire."

"Hey, I _so was not_ flirting with him!" I didn't even think I knew how to flirt. Wasn't I just pathetic?

"Was so. But tell Gran I said hey."

"Will do. Have fun with Maudette, won't you?"

"You know I always do." He grinned at me, a real winning smile. Fortunately for me, he spared me any unpleasant details about what they were getting up to tonight and, for that, I was grateful.

I grabbed my clutch and slid out of his truck, watching him drive back out to visit Maudette. Maudette Pickens was Jason's current go-to girl for hookups. Knowing him, it probably wouldn't last longer than two weeks. Two weeks tended to be Jason's expiry date when it came to women, then he got bored, and he was off looking for the next gal to have sexy times with.

When I got inside, I locked the house up, knowing immediately Gran was upstairs in her room, either reading or sleeping. The television wasn't on, but she left the kitchen light on for me. I listened carefully for a moment, almost expecting Gran to get out of bed and come down. When it didn't happen I went straight over to the refrigerator, set on heating myself up a bottle of blood.

Then I spotted the two slices of meat she had defrosting in a bowl, for probably Jason and her breakfast tomorrow morning. Leanly cut steak. Mmm.

I could tell it had been defrosting for a while, because as I got myself a glass and put it on the table while heading back for the bowl of meat, I tipped it sideways carefully and all the juices and diluted blood leaked out. It was hardly a quarter of a glass full, but it was more than enough for me.

Knowing I wouldn't be caught out, I put the meat back in the fridge hurriedly before taking my glass. I put my mouth over the rim, tipped the glass back, and drained the liquid down quickly, sip by hungry sip. I may have even moaned a couple of times in sheer delight. I could be sneaky like this; Often, I snuck glasses of meat juice and blood whenever I could, and Gran hadn't seemed to notice, not even to this day. It wasn't very strong because the cow blood was watered down, but it was still good enough for me. I reasoned that at least I wasn't killing anybody this way, and it would have only been a waste of blood otherwise.

Licking my lips in enjoyment, I leaned over the sink to rinse any telling stains from the glass off carefully.

Pardon me, but sometimes I just got so frigging hungry.

* * *

When I woke bright and early next morning at 7.30, I could hear Gran already downstairs, the two steaks sizzling in the pan for breakfast.

Getting up, I got changed into my Merlotte's uniform and headed downstairs, my stomach rumbling away. I swear, lately I had the appetite of a lion. I could have devoured an entire zoo or bus load of humans, if I could. But I couldn't so I wouldn't, of course.

"Morning, Gran," I said, announcing myself into the kitchen.

"Morning, dear."

She rushed over, hugging me and asking me how my night went with Jason. Like clockwork, I just said we caught a movie together but that the movie was so lame, I could hardly remember the name of it. I also said that Jason said hey belatedly and that he had gone to Maudette's for the night, which hardly surprised Gran either. Gran was always worried Jason would get a woman pregnant. Jason being a father to millions of babies from different women was a horrifying thought, for the both of us.

"So you two enjoyed yourselves?" she asked with interest while scurrying to heat me up a blood.

"Sure we did. And it was nice; Just the two of us hanging out." What could I say? That we had actually gone to a vampire bar in Shreveport last night, and that I had made a fool out of myself by making out with my Sheriff, who I was fairly positive found me repulsive? No, I sure couldn't have told Gran that.

I heard the washing machine go off next, so I put myself to some good use in grabbing the washing basket and carrying all Gran's washing out to the line. It wasn't like I would get tired by hanging out the washing anyway, was it? Now that I was a vampire, I helped Gran out a lot more with the housework. Especially when it required manual labor; like lifting up the heavy couches so Gran could vacuum underneath them, or using myself as a jack to lift my car or Jason's up so Jason could change the tires. Yep, I was now strong enough to lift a vehicle by scooting underneath it and pushing it up by my legs alone, something I was extremely proud about. Poor Gran was reaching her late sixties, so it was the least I could do, helping out around the house and hanging out the washing. It was a lovely sunny and clear morning. I hummed to myself absently while clipping up hand towels and shirts with pegs. Then Jason's pickup came down the driveway loudly, and I saw that as he got out, he was in something of a huff. Did he finally end things with Maudette? Or did they just have another argument?

He was wearing the clothes he often wore for work, seeing as he worked with the road crew. His khaki shorts and loose University of Texas T-shirt that hung around him and showed off a decent amount of tanned skin and muscles- just in case any members of the opposite sex rode past and decided to check him out. When he saw me hanging up the washing on the line for Gran, he looked no happy to see me, so I assumed he was feeling shitty with me, for whatever reason he had. When he stormed closer to me, he made that perfectly clear.

"You heard yet that Mack and Denise Rattray have gone missing?"

"Um, no. I've been here with Gran all morning so how could I have possibly heard that? And besides, I just woke up barely ten minutes ago?" My hands started trembling on me as I hung up another hand towel, but I tried to keep as emotionless as I possibly could. "What about them though, Jason?"

"They've gone missing. Fortenberry couldn't wait to tell me. He rode up to their house late last night to buy some weed from them, because you know, they like selling their drugs. And guess what? They weren't home. Apparently they hadn't reached home and haven't been home since that night you served them at Merlotte's." His tone was accusing, like he was blaming me for them going missing. And heck, he wasn't far off it.

I did know what happened to the Rats, indeed. I was there, and so was my sexy Sheriff. The Rats weren't officially missing; They were just decapitated and buried six feet under the dirt near the wood area of Merlotte's. I couldn't tell Jason that, though. Of course not.

"What the hell are you accusing me of here exactly?" I asked him, trying to sound confused. "I served them that night. Then I saw them leave. So what? What's this got to do with me?"

"You also know that they don't just deal drugs, right? That they also have a tendency to collect vampire blood, right?" Jason said it all slow and loud, like I was mentally slow. He waved a hand at me. "Well, hello. Ain't you a fucking vampire yourself? You sure they never tried anything on you? Those motherfuckers didn't try to hurt you or get your... your blood or anything like that?"

"Well, I'm here, aren't I?" I pointed out lightly, shrugging. "Why are you telling me this, anyhow? I'm the last person that gives a crap about the Rats. Far as I'm concerned, they were nasty pieces of scum. I'm not going to go around feeling sorry for them, and you shouldn't either, Jason." Apparently it was the wrong thing to say. Jason looked at me with raised eyebrows like I had grown two heads.

"Hell, I don't even know you anymore," he grumbled emptily under his breath. "The Sookie I knew never would say such a spiteful thing, about anybody. I mean, sure they were bad people and I know that. But do you really think they deserve to die or for anything bad to happen to them to cause them to go missing?"

"Yes, I do," I said matter-of-factly. "They were known for draining vampires,_ my_ kind of people. So why the hell should I ought to feel sorry for them?"

Gran stepped outside then, looking between us worriedly. I knew she could hear us shouting. By then, I was fed up, so I got the last of the washing done before heading back inside and ignoring Jason.

"I'm heading to work early," I told Gran, grabbing my keys. She called after me, telling me that my bottle of blood was ready, but I couldn't be bothered sitting there and drinking it. Not with Jason there, not right now. I was too annoyed.

Work was the distraction I needed right now, so I didn't care about getting in early. When I got inside, Sam was surprised to see me. He was standing behind the counter, polishing the dark wood of the bar before opening time truly began.

"Hey, Sook. What you doing here early? You don't start your shift until another half hour?"

"I've had a lousy start to the morning," I explained to him. "I figured I might as well come in early to work off some of my frustration." It seemed to be a good enough answer to Sam, because he simply nodded and let me head off into the staff room to put my bag and keys away.

I was tying my hair up into a neat ponytail when Arlene came in about fifteen minutes later for her shift, which started same time as mine did. Apparently I wasn't the only one feeling agitated this morning, because Arlene seemed it, too. Her mind was restless, while she stressed over her kids, Coby and Lisa. She hadn't thought she would have gotten them to school in time, but she did manage it. There was also something else plaguing her mind, but when I searched for what it was in particular, I found I was having difficulty to. Arlene was keeping something from me, something she was deliberately warding herself from thinking about in front of me, seeing as she knew I was a mind reader herself.

Arlene and I were close, so I was astonished that she felt it necessary to keep a secret from me. I met her eyes and she gave me a tight-lipped smile, that seemed both worried and anxious. I hated seeing a friend like that.

"What's up with you today, Arlene?" I asked her, concerned. "Is there something you're worried about?"

She started counting in her head then, obviously knowing I was attempting to pry. "Hey, that ain't fair, Sookie," she warned me, her voice unsteady. "You know how I don't like it when you attempt to delve into my mind! There is something I do gotta tell you, but I want to tell you it on my own time!"

"Fair enough. Sorry. How are the kids doing?"

I had learned surprisingly early on, that kids seemed to like me, and I liked them. Arlene had trusted me enough to babysit her kids a couple of times, and to my surprise, I found I enjoyed it whenever I got to. I had always loved the idea of children back when I was normal; So, fortunately for me, that hadn't changed any with me being a vampire now. I never felt like eating or feeding from children, I felt particularly disgusted at the idea, so that was very fortunate. Coby and Lisa, I wouldn't hurt, not in a million years. I think they found me more interesting as a vampire now, too; Last time I had babysat, they were constantly asking me questions, wanting to see my fangs and everything. Hell, they even called me Aunty Vampire Sookie. I loved it.

"Oh, the kids are good," Arlene said, always relieved to be gushing about them. "They keep asking for you to pop around, though, so you're probably gonna have to sometime soon, huh?"

"Sure. Just name a date, and I'll be happy to."

"You ever heard of Casper? As in Casper the Friendly Ghost, that kids movie?"

"I have. Vaguely, I think."

"Well, they're calling you that now, hon," Arlene said, laughing fondly. "Sookie the Friendly Vampire. Casper the Friendly Ghost."

"Oh, that's cute." I laughed along with her, although I wasn't feeling very friendly today.

Talking of Arlene's kids was working a treat with getting me out of my foul mood, though. Also, it made me feel quite sad; I often wondered whether I would get married and have children of my own. But now, it was no longer an option. Whoever my maker was, they had ultimately taken that opportunity away from me. I could no longer have children and I couldn't have a husband anytime soon. Well, not until they legalized marriage for my kind anyhow. Basically, I was going to be childless for the rest of my life, because I could no longer have babies.

I was going to be a childless, single, twenty-five year old for the rest of my life. (Technically, I'd be thirty years old by now. But I was turned at twenty five, so I'll be frozen at twenty five forever. Guess I won't have to resort to Botox. Yay for me. Not.)

We got back out at the bar and started working, occasionally chatting now and then. By lunch time, it grew increasingly busy with people coming in to get food or a cool drink to quench their thirst. My brother came in with his buddy Hoyt, but they sat in Arlene's section instead, so I was free to ignore him, thank goodness. He kept sending looks my way though, and I could hear by his thoughts, that he was still shitty with me. Too bad.

I spotted a couple in their mid-fifties or so sitting in my section so I grabbed my notepad and made my way over towards them while they read the menu. The instance the woman looked up, I could tell she was not at all pleased to have to be served by me.

_"Oh, goddamn it... I knew we were sitting in the wrong place... Don't want to be served by her... not her, creepy girl... Weird smile... I hear she's a vampire now, too... But then she's out during the day, isn't she... thought vampires didn't like sunlight... Must be because she's a big freak... Big freak of nature..."_

Still, I kept my smile in place with some effort, though I couldn't help feeling insulted. "Welcome to Merlotte's. I'm Sookie and I'm your server." Her husband looked up at me, and he started thinking about how perky my tits were. I tried not to take any notice of that either, tried not to let my uneasiness show on my face. "Anything I can get you two yet for starters? Or are you still just going through the menu?"

"Yes," the woman said stiffly, not at all nice in tone. "Yes, we are still going through the menu. Thank you."

"Sure, no worries. You just let me know when you're ready. Take your time."

I could tell she was dismissing me, trying to hint that I ought to leave them to some privacy, so I did. I poked my tongue out while my back was facing them. I was starting to feel agitated again. Then I realized it was probably because I hadn't had my synthetic bottle of blood for breakfast yet. Deciding to make myself busy, I went around tables, asking if anybody wanted a refill or needed anything, like ketchup or mayonnaise. I deliberately dodged Jason and Hoyt's table, and I enjoyed being a bit of a mean bitch for once.

They left about half an hour later, since it was just their work break and they always dropped in for lunch and a drink. Jason ignored me just as hard as I had ignored him, and I felt angry all over again. It started getting darker and darker by the hour and still, I hadn't taken my first break yet to get a bottle of blood in me. A hungry vampire was not a very accommodating vampire.

Then a group of youngish men entered only to sit in my section. I could see the couple in their fifties still hadn't made their minds up yet on what to order, or maybe they were just putting it off so I wouldn't have to serve them, being prejudiced against me and all, so I directed all my attention to the group of boys instead, unknowing of the trouble I was inviting myself into. The group of boys were being loud and boisterous. The instance I stood by their table, all their eyes started perving and staring. Sometimes I felt like I was working at Hooters, all scantily dressed.

"Good evening, welcome to Merlotte's," I said nervously. "What can I get you boys today?"

_"You can suck my dick..."_ One of the boys thought lewdly. My eyes sought him out, he had a nose ring in his septum, reminding me of a bull, and I tried to give him the most dangerous look I could muster. Wasn't too sure it was working, though.

"Coke. Four cokes, and four fries," another fella was saying, the nicest one out of the bunch. "And some, uh, onion rings, please."

"Sure, no problem. It'll be roughly about a twenty minute wait on that. Hope you won't mind."

When I had it all written down and I turned from them to head to the kitchen area to hand Lafayette and the other cooks the piece of paper, it happened. One of the boys decided to slap me on my behind, and I stopped stock still where I was, more so shocked than insulted. I wasn't sure which one it was in particular, but they all burst out laughing and I heard fist smacks being given. Slapping a woman's butt apparently was so awesome.

Forcing a big smile on my face, I turned back to peer down at the group of boys. That shut their laughter up pretty quickly; They all fell immediately silent, hands covering their mouths, trying to stifle their smiles and laughter.

"Um, which one of you little boys just did that to me?" I asked, in a voice as sweet as sugar. "Which one of you just slapped my butt?"

It didn't happen all the time; Getting my butt slapped. It had probably only happened on three occasions within a four year period, this being the forth time. It really wasn't the best feeling in the world; Frankly, it made me feel objectified. Unfortunately for me, the group of boys found it the most hilarious thing in the world.

"All righty then," I said, losing my patience. "How would you like it if you were on the receiving end of that? Because, honestly, I didn't find it all that nice personally myself at all."

The boys were still grinning at each other, like it was a jolly fun joke, so deciding why the hell not, I let my fangs come out. None of them found it funny after that. Their eyes widened, and they whispered amongst themselves anxiously.

"Yep, I am one of_ those_ people," I said, through my fangs. I was relishing their reactions. "I'm a vampire, and you just slapped a very hungry_ vampires_ butt, one of you boys did. I'm _already_ in a lousy mood, so don't any of you-all think of doing that to me again otherwise you'll be sorry!" I gave them one of my big smiles to unnerve them, then I left their table, feeling extraordinarily proud of myself.

There's nothing like putting somebody in their place...

There was a big bounce in my step as I delivered their order to the cooks. I heard Arlene's thoughts first on my way back. She was standing by the bar, hands knotted together near her stomach. She was so anxious it was palpable. When I got closer to her, her thoughts were louder at me then.

_"Oh, god, how am I meant to tell her? Don't want to insult her... but I ought to tell her. She's supposed to be my best friend... It's only right, ain't it?"_

"Tell me what, Arlene?" I asked her, without thinking. "What's stressing you?"

She gave me an odd look, then she realized I knew that she was worrying over something she'd have to tell me. She took in a deep breath, then let it all out. "Okay, well... I'm nervous to tell you, because I don't want to insult you or get you upset, but honey, I'm-"

She was pregnant. Arlene was pregnant with her third child, I wasn't too sure who the father of this one was though, and before she could even so much as get the word out, I was hugging her.

"Oh, Arlene, how wonderful," I said, pulling back to smile at her. "That's so great! Why were you so frightened of telling me? Congratulations, that's the best news!"

"Is it?" she asked uncertainly, her eyes wide. "Oh, Sookie. I just thought that, seeing as you can't have babies yourself now, and all, that it'd make you feel upset, and I wasn't sure whether to tell you or not. You sure that isn't hard for you to hear?"

I shook my head vigorously. "Not at all. I am so pleased for you, Arlene! I can't believe you were scared to tell me!" I hugged her again, feeling weepy and like I was about to cry. Then I felt Arlene stiffen beneath me, though I wasn't sure why.

"Oh, he's here, hon," she whispered in my ear excitedly.

"Who's here?"

"That vampire, the hot one you like," she explained in a hushed voice, pulling herself away from me to point with a glistening red fingernail in his direction. I turned to look myself and, just my bad luck, Arlene was right.

Sheriff Northman was standing there, having just pushed himself through the door of Merlotte's. He was back to wearing a leather jacket tonight with black tight jeans and an equally as tight black V-necked shirt that showed off throat muscles and toned abdominals. In other words, pure deliciousness in over six-feet. Our eyes met at once, and I knew immediately that he was here for me tonight. I just wasn't entirely sure why, but it couldn't have been for anything good, could it?

_Damn. Damn. Damn._ "Arlene, you've got to cover for me," I got out shakily under my breath, turning away from Sheriff Eric Northman with some difficulty.

"What?" Arlene looked petrified at the thought. "Hon, I can't do that! Would that really be safe? Especially with, you know..." She trailed off, clutching her stomach with her hands meaningfully. "I mean, I got a kid in me now. I can't just-"

"-It's fine, no, you're completely right," I told her understandingly. "I should do this myself. I really should, and I'll be completely fine while doing it." I was mostly reassuring myself, but whatever. Sam was about to head into his office, but I caught him. "Sam, you mind if I go on my break? I think its best I have my bottle of blood now."

"Oh, of course." Sam glanced down at his wrist watch, smiling apologetically. "Darling, you don't need to ask anyway. You're due for your break whenever you feel like it."

"Thanks, Sam."

Rushing behind the bar, I got myself a blood and jammed it in the microwave to heat. When I glanced back, my Sheriff was still watching me, rather sternly. Bracing myself and trying to appear completely normal, I made myself point at the microwave then outside the window. We could talk outside in privacy, if need be. Hopefully he wasn't intending to do something unpleasant on me. But he seemed to understand what I was trying to say completely, because he nodded once before heading back outside. All the tension seemed to leave my body when he did.

Was I in big trouble for kissing him then running off last night? I wasn't sure. I suppose there was one way to figure that out, though. And that was simply by meeting him outside.

Giving my bottle a vigorous shake, I started making the walk to where he was now waiting for me outside. I got out the back entrance and stood in the closed off area where us employees usually sat to have our breaks, depending on the weather. I looked around nervously, only... I couldn't see him anywhere. Whoops. Maybe he had misinterpreted my finger walking gestures after all?

Then when I caught movement out of the corner of my eye and that silent void, he said both softly and formally, "Miss Stackhouse."

When I turned towards his voice, there he was. My Sheriff in all his glory. The corner of his mouth was lifted slightly into a smirk.

This was really the last of what I was expecting, in him turning up to my workplace again. Guess he needed to have a chat with me, though. Maybe punish me for being so out-of-line and forward last night at Fangtasia, in literally shoving my tongue down his throat?

"Sheriff Northman," I said back with a forced smile. "Good evening. And here we meet again..."

I couldn't look him in the eye, so I focused on the start of his chest peeking out from the V-neck shirt instead. The smooth, pale skin showing there. He really was a handsome devil.

"Mine," he said icily, and it caused me to look up at him again.

His shining blue eyes were already on me as he looked down at me, slightly bending his neck, in all his height, scrutinizing my face. There was definitely something there, though. His mouth was compressed tight, his eyes intense.

Just to buy myself some time, I suppose, I brought my blood up, taking in a quick sip while I processed that single word in. Mine? Meaning what, exactly?

"What?" I mumbled, still not getting it after a couple of minutes. "Um, am I in some kind of trouble due to last night?" He licked his lips and I could hear myself starting to breathe unnecessarily heavily. "Look, I don't know why it happened myself. I'm sorry I licked you all those times, and I'm sorry I kissed you last night! Usually, I'm very good with controlling my urges, only with you, my sense of control seems to just be shot straight to hell whenever you're near me." I had a guilty conscience and it just wanted to spew itself out, my apology.

His brows furrowed at me, like he was confused. I realized then that maybe an apology wasn't needed for all I had done to him, after all.

"What your maker, he or she did, is very bad," he said to me after a moment of swallowing my apology down. His teeth were gritted; showing how passionate he was on the subject of a vampire being turned then deserted, yet again. "It is nothing more than a miracle that you have even survived this long without your makers guidance. Most abandoned baby vampires do not make it past their second or third year not only because they lacked their makers assistance on how to glamour and feed from humans to survive, but also because they get themselves into too much trouble, more than they can efficiently handle."

Okay. Well, what he was telling me, it was definitely news to me.

"Well, I guess I'm lucky I had my Gran and my brother to help look out for me those first three years then," I said quietly.

"Yes. And with that said, I see something within you that I resonate with. A baby vampire should be protected and taught the proper ways of being a vampire. You live with humans and, yet, _you_ are_ better_ than they are. _You_ are vampire." He paused for a moment to take in a deep breath. "Which is why I am offering you, Sookie Stackhouse, the chance and opportunity to be mine. While we may not share the same vessel, I should still be able to teach you the many ways of being a vampire."

My head whirled. "What are- Are you offering to be my-"

"Your surrogate maker, yes," he clarified over me calmly. "And you _will_ be_ mine_," he added, almost possessively.

I stared at him in stunned silence for a very long moment. I definitely wasn't expecting this to happen.

"You will have my guidance, my protection. And," he paused, leaning down to put his mouth closer to my left ear, his tone changing; Darker, deeper, filled with sensual promise, "Above all that... fantastic sex." He chuckled against my ear throatily.

I was quivering in unrestrained happiness; The idea of him adopting me, teaching me the skills I hadn't two wits about, and not to mention, getting to know him on a more intimate level, was exciting. I was tired of feeling like a pathetic and clueless vampire.

"Oh, you totally have me at the sex part," I said breathlessly, hardly recognizing myself. I guess I was trying out flirting. I would be putting Jason to shame, total horn-dog Sheriff Northman was turning me into. How frigging embarrassing.

**Hope you enjoyed this one? Please let me know your thoughts. How are you feeling about vampire Sookie so far? And Eric, too? Hope they aren't too OOC I get so anxious when updating. I'm one of those people that worry. Next chapter Sookie will get some training in with her new surrogate maker, and soon they'll visit Godric and she'll eventually learn who turned her and why. I'm not sure you'll like the twist of who Sookie's true maker is, but we'll see. Thank you guys so much for your reviews and thoughts! I love reading them! *hugs***


	9. Chapter 9

_**First of all, I own nothing to do with TB. I'm just simply a huge fan here.**_

_**Thank you all so much, yet again. You continuously surprise me with your kindness. I'm not very confident as a writer, so the response to this story never ceases to shock me! Thank you so much! And I do hope you enjoy this one hehe!**_

_**Sookie is basically like Warlow; She just isn't aware of her fairy powers as yet, like the light out of her fingers, flying, etc. Her vampire side is more prominent at night, so she'll get hungrier at nighttime. Hope that makes sense!**_

* * *

_**Chapter Nine**_

Due to what he said, I was grinning widely like a crazy person. And maybe I was coo-coo crazy? I certainly had the reputation and everybody else in Bon Temps seemed to believe I was. But then I decided I hardly could care, whether I was insane or not. I'd seen how people acted around people they liked, simply by watching them. I liked this vampire, perhaps a little too much. I'd seen people get all smiley all the time due to liking somebody, so I told myself it was completely normal of me.

"How many humans have you killed thus far in your five years of being a vampire?" he asked me unexpectedly.

I sure as shit was not expecting him to ask me that. And so casually, too.

"Um, why?" I asked, immediately cautious. I had a gut feeling if I said I _had_ killed somebody, that I'd get into trouble. Not that I had killed anyone as yet, of course. But he was my Sheriff, after all. I had always been a person that abided by the law and feared getting into serious trouble. "How many humans have_ you_ killed?"

"I've been around for over a millennium which makes me very old." He shrugged, like we were simply talking about the usual day-to-day things, like the weather tonight. "I stopped counting when I reached around into the hundreds mark. Since then, there has been too many to keep track of over the years."

"You've killed over_ a hundred_ people?" I was shocked, and I couldn't hide it in my tone. "Good Lord. How could you live with yourself after knowing you've done that? I know I certainly couldn't." I felt a tad better with him admitting he'd killed so many humans. So I confessed, without shame, "I've killed zero humans so far." I hesitated, using my ears to make sure we were completely alone, before adding quietly,"Well, aside from the Rats, but I didn't really kill them, did I? I did help you bury their bodies though. I suppose, in a sense, that makes me an accessory to their murder. Does that count?"

I got tired of standing around so I moved towards one the benches and sat, holding my bottle of blood tightly between my hands. Sheriff Northman came over and sat across from me, as well. He folded his hands and sat them on the table, and I had an awfully strong urge to slide my hands over and grip his in them. I fought hard against it with all my might. I was grateful for that distance he had placed between us with the benches.

"So you haven't killed anyone as yet?"

"Nope." I was proud I hadn't. "I've been a good girl."

"And what about feeding? Have you fed from a human as yet?" I wasn't entirely sure why he was bothering to ask me all of this. Then it sort of kind of sunk in and made sense.

He was asking around into what experience I had, and what he'd have to work on teaching me. Unfortunately for him, he'd have to be teaching me the whole nine yards. I was admittedly as clueless as a vampire could get; I wasn't aware of any vampire skills I could have had, aside from having that extra bit of strength from the norm. I'd read a few paranormal books, though; Like Dracula. Far as I could tell, crucifixes didn't worry me a bit and I couldn't shift into mist or slide through keyholes.

I could read human minds, but that was an ability I'd have even while I was human. I hadn't fed from anybody, and I wasn't just a virgin when it came to that side of it; When I was human, I hadn't no less as experienced my first time with somebody, sexually. I had kept my distance back then, seeing as it was hard to even think of getting sexy with somebody while I could hear what they were thinking of me. I was a virgin, in every different meaning of the word. I hadn't... tried to glamour anybody. I could be out in the sunlight and I didn't have to worry about it bothering me. But I lacked experience, with most things that came along with my new life.

"Never. I've never fed on anybody." He was looking at me in a way that felt me uneasy, so I averted my eyes, playing with my bottle of blood instead. I turned it around and around with my fingers. "Gran would ground me for a week if I ever did. I just drink the synthetic blood, and it seems good enough for me so far. I mean, it has kept me out of trouble for the last... five years or so."

"How can you stand it?" he asked quietly. When I let my eyes meet his, he gestured with his chin towards my bottle of blood. My eyes were working well tonight; In the dim lighting out back, I still could see with sheer vividness the light bit of stubble around his dimpled chin and lips, the redness around the lids of his eyes which so were like my own now. The color of his eyes stood out brilliantly against his pale skin. "Don't you find the taste particularly... vile?"

"Oh, do I ever." Yet again, I felt so relieved that I had someone to talk to about all of this; Someone who seemed to understand and 'get me' completely. "Its so tasteless, but if it works in keeping me away from getting too hungry enough that I'd ever feel tempted to bite someone, its well worth it, putting up with how nasty and fake it tastes. I pretty much have Tru Blood to thank for keeping me satisfied and not so bloodthirsty. I do have to admit though that there are times where I wish I could just not have to drink it." I grimaced and made a face while I rubbed my tongue around my teeth, feeling that horrible furry feeling already there. "And how... furry your teeth feel afterwards, how it... it stains. It's annoying how you always have to bring a spare toothbrush with you."

Now I was rambling, something I tended to do when I was nervous. It was a little trait of mine; My mouth ran constant like a tap whenever I was feeling on-edge and anxious, with no filter in what I was saying. I'd be a nervous chatterbox when I was a human and even now, it still hadn't changed any.

"Sorry," I added, laughing. "Whenever I'm nervous, I tend to get like this. All yap, yap, yap. Blah, blah... blah. Feel free to just tell me straight up to shut the heck up from time to time, whenever you want to."

"Why are you nervous?" he asked, as if he didn't already know.

"Because I like you so very much," I said breathlessly, without thinking. Cursing inwardly, I shut my eyes for several seconds, wishing I could just magically disappear. Here was the lack of verbal filter-thing that I had previously mentioned.

_Shut up, Sookie Stackhouse, _I told myself angrily, before slowly opening my eyes again. _Just shut up already and put a sock in it while you're at it!_

I forced a tight smile on my face, feeling my fangs come down. My hands tightened over my bottle of blood, so much so that I could almost hear the glass begin to crack. Now I was petrified that I was accidentally going to smash the thing on myself, seeing as I was gripping onto it that hard. Prying one hand from the bottle, I rested my elbow against the bench and perched my chin in my hand, surreptitiously covering my mouth while I did it. I was mortified at the idea of him seeing me with my fangs extended all due to him and his presence.

"You know who made you into a vampire, you said. Do you remember everything of what happened that night you were turned, too?" I asked, deliberately distracting him by changing subject.

I sort of hoped he was just as clueless about what had happened as I was, because I could not remember a single thing of what had happened to me. Aside from waking up buried in soil, of course. I was hoping it was normal; That you just naturally forgot what had happened before the change.

"I do," Eric confessed, much to my disappointment. "I remember everything. Meeting Godric and... what he said to me, before it happened."

"Well, that sucks then," I said truthfully. "I can't remember anything at all. Not a single thing, aside from waking up next night covered in dirt." I tried to think it over carefully, hoping that if I thought about what had happened hard enough, that something would finally come to me. Nothing ever did; I'd tried it so many times, and there was just... nothing there. "I do have these weird reoccurring dreams, though. Of myself driving down the highway in my car while its dark at night. I haven't the slightest clue if that means something though, or whether its connected to what had happened to me before or not."

"It's possible that it could have been in regards to that night. Perhaps you were driving down the highway, as you say, and your maker showed up then and made you vampire?"

"I don't know. I wouldn't have the faintest clue."

We fell into a weird moment of silence. Then I heard Sheriff Northman sniff at me. Usually I just breathed for the sake of breathing and appearing normal to other people in the bar, but when Sheriff Northman did it just then, it was obvious he was doing it for no reason other than to smell me. Self-consciously I dipped my head, sniffing myself as well, around my chest and near my armpits. I could smell nothing. Well, not any offensive B.O smell whatsoever. Did I smell all gross like onion rings and burgers? Should I have doused myself extra generously with deodorant before coming outside with him like this?

"Goodness, I'm sorry," I croaked out, when it occurred to me that he was looking at me strangely with slightly glazed and widened eyes. "I must smell like grease and oil and burgers. Should I have-"

"Oh, on the contrary," he cut me off, his voice an octave deeper. "You smell as if you have been out in the sunlight. Now, you may not know much about being a vampire, but surely you know that you will burn and perish if you stay out in the sunlight for long enough?" Although his face was perfectly expressionless, I could see a bit of flaring outrage and disbelief there in his eyes.

"Nope, I don't burn. I mean, the sunlight don't affect me. Not sure why, but it just doesn't." He was observing me with a strange expression on his face yet again, his lips parted. I thought he was almost shocked. "That's pretty much how I've been able to live as much as normal; I can still work my shifts during the day, and I can sunbathe and no matter how long I spend out in the sunlight, it doesn't seem to affect me."

"Do you mean to tell me that you are capable of day walking?" he asked quietly, his voice going all shivery with surprise.

"Guess, I am, if that's what its called. Don't ask me why, though. And I was just as shocked as you seem to be, when I found out I could still be out during the day. I found out, probably... a week after I was made."

"Well, I certainly have never heard of that being possible before." Both his eyebrows rose and, I might have been slightly mistaken, but he appeared impressed. "For a thousand years I have never heard of that being possible; A vampire being able to walk in the daylight, being... immune to exposure to sunlight. Well, I have heard of it, in certain circles, but it was known as nothing more than a myth."

"Well, I guess I'm walking talking proof that it isn't a myth," I said lightly. "I'm telling you the truth, I swear to God. Just this morning, I hung out Gran's washing for her on the line and I was out in the sun for a fair bit. I'm assuming that's why you smell it on me the way you can now?"

"And you can simply day walk? Or is there more?" I had him deeply intrigued, I knew that much. But then I flitted my eyes sideways to look through the window quickly and saw my boss Sam standing there, peering out and watching us talking. He was frowning, his hands on his hips, and I could tell he was concerned for me, for whatever reason he had. _Which reminded me..._

"Oh, shoot. I think I've just used up my fifteen minute break while talking to you."

Not wanting to risk it, I forced myself to gulp half of my blood down. I was always cautious of letting myself become too hungry, especially while working and I had a bunch of humans around me. I couldn't afford taking any chances. I stood while chucking my blood in the trash by the door, and my Sheriff got to his feet and moved away from the bench, too.

"You are welcome to come inside and wait around for me so we can talk more later after works done, if you're wanting to?" Part of me was foolishly hoping that he would wait around for me. "I'm finished completely in another half hour?"

He looked undecided for a second, before he shrugged and zipped up his jacket. "I think I might very well just do that and wait around," he agreed, rather breathlessly.

"Great." My smile was too big, showing fang. "That's so great that you will. So please, don't you go anywhere else or I'll be forced to go all feral possessive vampire and hunt you down." His left eyebrow arched at me at my last flighty comment and I felt so dumb. Flirting most definitely was not my strongest point.

Realizing I was being a bit too eager, I showed him the way back inside while hoping not to appear too jittery. I watched him help himself to a free seat in the nearest available spot in my area then I quickly went into the bathroom to brush my teeth thoroughly to get all the stains off. Rinsing my mouth and my fangs off with cold water made my fangs retract. Now I thought I finally understood what people meant, about having cold showers to cool down; It definitely helped with my fangs.

I straightened and tightened up my ponytail, made sure it still looked neat and that my clothes were tidy and that the straps of my bra wasn't peeking through the neck of my shirt, before I got straight back out and into working again. I grabbed my little apron and tied it on with quick and nimble fingers while I looked over at my Sheriff.

He had his mobile phone out as he stretched out along his chair, one arm draped around the back of it, and I could see his thumb blurring while he texted somebody.

Even although his attention was elsewhere and not on me, I felt nervous as a squirrel with its home being invaded. Quickly, I regretted asking him to sit in and wait for me. It put a lot of pressure on my shoulders to appear normal and as unaffected in his presence as I possibly could get.

But knowing he was in the bar waiting to resume our conversations afterwards, and not to mention, his invitation to be my surrogate maker, it had me feeling probably more cheerful than I ought to have been. I couldn't seem to wipe the smile off my face, and a lot of people thought my smiles were creepy and unnerving usually. Or so their thoughts told me, time and time again.

So when I went to serve a woman, I caught the feeling of discomfort that radiated from her insides as I stood in front of her. "Hi, I'm Sookie. What can I get you tonight, ma'am?" I asked her, way too cheerfully. I could feel myself literally beaming at her.

"Um, I'll have one of those burgers and also a diet coke, please..." _My Lord, I swear she's retarded... why is she looking at me like that... Creepiest smile I've ever seen..._ "Oh, and I think this bottle of ketchup needs refilling..." _Can't miss some ketchup on my burger... Ugh, she's creeping me out... Such a freaking retard..._

"Sure, refill on the ketchup coming straight up, ma'am," I repeated, showing her I was listening. "And also, a burger and a large diet coke. Anything else to go with that, ma'am?"

_What the fuck does she mean, anything else... Jesus, I just said I want my coke and my burger... Definitely retarded, all right..._

"Um, no," I said to her, losing myself. She had insulted me by being rude and making assumptions when I was simply trying to be helpful. Really, I got this all the time; It was one of the downfalls to my telepathic ability. Still, it never stung any less. "I am not retarded, thank you very much. So please, don't you dare get to thinking that about me!"

It flew out of my mouth angrily before I could stop myself. Damn. Whoops. Sometimes I had my slip-ups occasionally where I'd answer somebodies thoughts rather than their spoken words.

She blinked up at me in pure shock and terror. _How the hell did she know I was thinking she was retarded... She read my thoughts... oh, she's that crazy Sookie girl, that's why... _

"Um, anyway, I'll get this refilled," I said quickly, taking the light bottle of ketchup with me. "And your food will be along just shortly, ma'am."

_Shit_. I shook my head and berated myself internally while my eyes focused on my Sheriff from where he sat. _Double shit._ Already, his eyes were on me and I knew then that he had heard me. Crap. I wasn't even so sure I wanted to tell him about my gift, that I was a telepath, but with the way he was staring at me, with avid interest and those lovely lips of his slightly curled in amusement, it become clear to me that he was already halfway there into knowing about it.

I was off my game tonight. I blamed Sheriff Northman for that.

He was making me feel all nervous and hyperaware that he was watching my every move while I did my thing. Determined not to have anymore slip-ups in front of anybody, I set my shoulders high and passed the woman's order on to the cooks before refilling the ketchup bottle and returning it back over to the woman's table. She was watching me anxiously as I returned, and she was shaking slightly.

"There you go, ma'am. Here's your ketchup and your meal and drink shouldn't be too long."

She didn't answer; She simply gave me a rude look, so I gave her one back before turning my back on her to focus on another couple dining in my section. As usual, I heard their thoughts, which were unwanted at best.

_Swear he's gay... Please, oh, please Lord, don't let him be gay... Then again, I did see that pornographic magazine he had hid under the mattress... Naked men, all men... Naked... _

I tried to make my face look utterly normal as I stood in front of the pair. The woman was stressed, wondering if her partner was gay while he sat there beside her in dead silence, munching a fry occasionally. He was wearing a bright pink dress shirt. Go figure.

"Hey there. How are we all doing?" I asked the two, a bit too enthusiastically. The woman gave me a look with arched eyebrows while her partner shrugged in boredom. "Anything else I can get you two or are you fine as you are?"

_What I would really like to know, young woman, is whether or not he's gay. Please don't let him be gay._ "We're all good here," she answered out loud. _No we're not, we are far from all right here... He won't even have sex with me anymore... and that magazine filled with men... Disgusting, although I rather liked the look of those naked men... Mmm..._

_"_Oh, I wouldn't mind taking a gander of that magazine myself," I said to her breathlessly, without thought yet again. The woman gave me a pointed stunned look, and I laughed softly in embarrassment. "Oh, pardon me. I'm so sorry, ma'am. You two just let me know if you're needing anything at all, won't you?"

To say I was eager to finish work was ever the understatement. I was definitely off my game tonight, and not in a smart way. Usually I was better at not answering anybody's thoughts out loud, but clearly there was something wrong with me tonight. God, what was wrong with me tonight?

I dared to peek his way again and, bugger, Eric Northman was still watching me. He wasn't interested with his phone anymore, not now. He let his eyes run down my shirt and the front of my shorts in what seemed to me a very obvious way. He wanted me to know that he was literally undressing me with his eyes. Maybe my confession into being, as he called it, a day walker, had a positive effect? I was too nervous to so much as even return the look by undressing him with my eyes myself, so instead I gave a little smile before glancing away quickly.

I was more than just a little relieved when Sam called me over and told me I was free to go, that my shift was finished for the night. I grew a bit scared when Sam took my hand and hustled me into his office, for whatever reason he had. Was this the part where he finally fired my ass?

"What's going on with you tonight, Cher?" he asked me, gently with concern so he could make it clear on me that he wasn't so much mad as he was worried for me.

"God, I don't know, Sam. I just... I'm feeling extra nervous tonight, is all. I don't know what's wrong with me." As I said it, Sam put his hands on my shoulders, which freaked me out quite a lot. Sam usually wasn't so touchy with me.

"He bothering you?" he asked next, and I didn't need to attempt to read his mind to know just who it was my boss was referring to. "Look, if he won't leave you alone, I'm sure I'd be able to have a talk to him?"

"No!" It erupted from my mouth too loudly and defensively. "No, I mean... Sheriff Northman isn't bothering me at all, Sam. Not at all! You don't need to have a talk to him. Everything's great!" We were standing too close, and his eyes were inspecting me all over. My face, the front of my shirt, somewhat gently and tenderly. "He said he's gonna be my surrogate maker," I said, just to share my happiness with somebody. "Isn't that great? Finally, I can learn how to be the new me, the... the real vampire me, and he said he's gonna help me! Isn't that the best?"

"No, no, that ain't great, Sookie." Sam didn't share my enthusiasm, and I could tell as much. His hands tightened over my shoulders and he gave me a rather rough shake. "Goddamn it, Sookie!" He was shouting and he sighed at me in frustration while shaking me again. "What are you thinking? How do you think your Grandma Adele would take this, knowing you're being badly influenced by someone like him?"

"Badly influenced? What?" I had no idea what Sam was on about. "And someone like him? Sam, I am like him!"

"No, you're not like him," he argued back, getting pretty damn loud and passionate on the subject. "Cher, you are perfect the way you are! I'm telling you; Don't go off with that damn vampire! He'll... he'll lead you astray and get you into some... some bad business you don't want to have no part in!" He sighed again, finally letting me go. But then confusing me even more, he started unbuttoning his flannel shirt, giving me a better glimpse at the tanned skin there. I could hear his heart beating in a faster and excited way. "Look, if you wanna embrace your vampire side, then just do it here, with me!" I flinched when he pressed a hand to the back of my skull, pulling my head closer. "Whatever you do, just don't go off with that damn vampire!"

I couldn't believe what Sam was doing, or no less what he was saying. Then I got it, just like that, when he tried to press my cheek against his bare throat and chest. His skin was warm and sweaty, and maybe I could have bitten a human for the very first time and experienced what it was like to drink from them. My fangs extended with an audible noise and I heard Sam breathe in deeply. But Sam was my boss! And, frankly, he smelled funny. By funny, I meant, in a highly off-putting way.

While I had a hunch that Sam liked me, I had no idea he liked me_ that much_.

"What the hell!" I muttered, giving him a good shove away. "You are my boss, Sam, and I so am _not_ feeding from you!" I had forgotten how strong I was now, yet again, so when my hands connected with his chest and I shoved him, he stumbled back and fell down into his chair heavily. The wheels of his chair made him scoot back and crash into the cabinet where he put all of his tax return slips and other things inside it, but far as I was concerned, it serves him right. "What is with you? Even when I was human you were always like this with me, so overprotective like I'm a child that can't think for itself!"

"Oh, come on, Sookie. That isn't it, and you know it!" Sam was flushed and frustrated, wiping a hand over his scruffy chin. "I just care for you, is all! And that vampire, Eric Northman... he ain't the type of vampire that you want to mess around with and be influenced by!"

"Oh, really?" I was almost shouting, I was that angry. "Well, let me decide that _for myself_! I am going to be taught by him and yes, that may even mean I'll be feeding from a few humans while I do it, learning not to kill them or go overboard in the process, but... that is hardly_ any_ of your business either way!" Afraid I'd do more damage to him, I stormed out of his office quickly to grab my things.

After all, couldn't keep Sheriff Northman waiting, could I?

My excitement about spending time learning with my Sheriff outweighed any anger that lingered due to my trying conversation with Sam. I found him waiting for me outside the front of Merlotte's. His back was facing me as he looked around the parking lot, and I wasn't sure what made him turn around to glance at me, but something must have alerted him to my presence.

"Ready, Miss Stackhouse?" he asked me, and his fangs were already out. "Are you ready to watch and learn from one of the best?"

"One of the best? Well, now. Are you usually this cocky, Sheriff?" That retort came out of nowhere, but much to my relief, he didn't deem it rude, me saying that. He simply chuckled and grinned at me, showing his straight human teeth as well as the fangs.

Hell, if I could keep getting him to smile like that, then I would no longer care whatever foolish things came from my mouth.

**Hope you found some enjoyment in this one? It feels so strange writing both Eric and Sookie as vampires, but I hope you are enjoying it regardless? I know she's a very... different vampire, and I couldn't resist her talking back with her telepathy in front of Eric . :P**

**Thank you all so much for being so lovely. I'm so surprised, as this is the most interest I have gotten over a story, so thank you! As usual, please let me know your thoughts!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Again, I own nothing to do with TB. Just a fan that is screwing around with Sookie and Eric and making them both vampires lol.**

**I want to thank you guys so much again for the amazing support. Never thought anyone would like any of my stories or be interested in them, so the support, reviews and alerts have been mind-blowing. Thank you! I do hope you enjoy this one ;)**

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_**Chapter 10**_

My Sheriff took me to a place in the Shreveport area where I drove and he sat in the passenger's seat, guiding me with the directions.

I had no idea where he was intending to take me or what my first lesson would be. All I knew was that I was anxious, anxious being around him. My hands were shaking and I was all wobbly over the road. My driving was seriously suffering due to it. But if Eric thought I was a bad or dangerous driver in any way, he certainly said nothing.

He just sat back silently, like I was his chauffeur. He told me to pull up at a large house in a neighborhood that looked dangerously seedy. There was graffiti scrawled everywhere on the white weatherboard house. Broken, smashed in windows. And while I hopped out while locking my car up securely on the side of the road, I could hear loud ghetto music pumping from inside. I let my Sheriff take the lead in walking up the cracked path to the house before me; I was trusting him, not only with my life, but with not letting me get into too much mischief. When he knocked on the glass pane of the door and stood back, it took less than half a minute to be opened. Who I saw there that was obviously the occupant of the rundown house, had me by surprise.

It was a woman. A lovely, petite long-haired brunette dressed in nothing but a long pink satin robe which covered her completely and kept her modest. She had a large bite on her neck. Apparently she knew Eric, because a bright smile came across her face at the sight of him and she stepped aside to let him in eagerly. Unfortunately for me, she wasn't so eager to see me when she realized he had company. Her smile deflated, and she gave me a good once-over that seemed contemptuous, taking in my Merlotte's uniform with skeptical grey eyes.

My Gran raised me to be a polite young woman with manners. Although I would have preferred nothing more than to scruff her by the hair and yank her to the floor over the lusty thoughts she was having of my Sheriff, I forced a friendly smile on my face. And kept it there. "Er, its so very lovely to meet you," I said, even though I felt it was anything but lovely to meet her. "I'm Sookie. And you are?"

I held out my hand for her to shake, which she peered down at. She didn't bother shaking it. What? Did vampires not do the whole hand-shaking-thing? Shit.

She just gave my Sheriff a disbelieving look, with her drawn-on eyebrows lifted. _Is she fucking kidding me? _her thoughts shot at me over offering to shake her hand._ Is she for real?_

I withdrew my hand, clasping my fingers tightly together in front of me. "Pardon me," I muttered under my breath awkwardly before I could stop myself.

Pushing my legs forward, I followed Sheriff Northman into the house while the woman closed up the door securely from behind us. Her thoughts most definitely weren't very nice towards me. Women could treat one another so badly and judgmentally sometimes.

Further we went, down the narrow hallway, into another room. This room was filled with people; Both men and women, both vampire and human. There were plush white sofas around the room, most of them occupied. In the center of the room, a rectangular coffee table with an ashtray. Only one woman was holding a lit cigarette, puffing away compulsively while she stood, swaying side to side to the music near a male vampire with bleached blond hair, who was sitting in one of the single plush chairs, watching her with a distant look on his face.

The music was louder in this room, the bass sending vibrations around from a stereo-system in the far right corner of the room. The women in the room were scantily dressed, more so than the brunette that had answered the front door in simply her satin robe. These women were wearing frilly lingerie and impressive high heels, period. One woman was topless, her breasts bouncing freely. Fang marks adorned necks, thighs, and wrists. If I was a male, I would have thought the sight sexy as hell.

When my Sheriff found a two-seater couch to sit in, as I glanced at his face, I saw a glimpse of his fangs. Apparently he found it all rather exciting as well, the sight of the women. I wasn't too sure what to think about that... Just when I was starting to feel insulted by him bringing me here, I reminded myself that this was no date. He was simply trying to teach me how to be a vampire. I wasn't sure what lesson he was teaching me now though, however.

When the topless woman sauntered over towards us in her stilettos, she started moving to the music while standing directly in front of my Sheriff's legs, like she was giving him his very own personalized lap dance. I looked at my Sheriff, who unfortunately for me, appeared very captivated by the sight of her boobs. His blue eyes were bright and intent on them, fixated. I felt a peculiar surge of bitterness pummel through me, rage. In all my furious irritation, I had to clasp my hands together tightly in front of my lap out of fear I'd lash out and do something seriously irrational. Honestly, I didn't much like the way he was looking at her, so lustfully. He was all for me tonight, after all.

And anyway, her boobs were clearly enhanced medically. They weren't real. Was that what my Sheriff liked, in a woman? Fake boobs? Er, not that I was looking too closely at her, or anything like that.

It belatedly sunk in just where we were; We were in a strip club, or well... at the very least, a house that was secretively a brothel that vampires regularly went to as main clients, considering the number of fang marks on the female dancers. If so, then why did Sheriff Northman feel the need to bring me here, of all places? I thought he was going to teach me how to become a good vampire?

"Hi, dangerous and sexy," the woman said next in what was to me a very seductive sounding voice, starting to trail her glistening red fingernails around her chest and nipples. "You looking for some of this tonight, 'cause if you're wanting to we can go skedaddle into another room where we'll be all by ourselves?" She squeezed both breasts in a handful to emphasize the question to Eric, I suppose.

She was lucky I had total control on myself and my urges right now. I took an unnecessary deep breath in to calm myself.

Usually I wasn't so malicious, but I had a very satisfying and very vivid mental image of myself latching onto her throat with my fangs and declaring, "Hands off, honey. He's mine tonight. He's here with me, and he doesn't want any of your goodies."

I was starting to realize I was the example of possessive and territorial behavior when it came to Sheriff Northman, which was truly scary. He wasn't even mine to have, realistically. He was probably only simply doing this for me because he felt pity for me, over my situation with my Maker up and abandoning me, nothing personal.

I oughtn't feel possessive over someone who clearly doesn't like me in that way.

She was waiting expectantly for my Sheriff to answer and, when he finally did, it was like a load had been taken off my back in a wonderful way. "No, thank you," he said, disinterestedly. "I'll pass."

Evidently the woman couldn't take a hint. She actually pouted. "Oh, come on, baby. You don't know what you're missing." As if only just noticing that I was sitting on the white sofa beside him, her dark eyes slithered to me. Her look was rather mean and contemptuous. So were her thoughts. "Come on, surely she don't satisfy you nearly enough? A human chick like her? I mean, she don't even got any bites on her!"

"Yeah, and there's a mighty good reason for that," I said to her stiffly, unable to help myself.

"Yeah?" She arched her eyebrows at me doubtfully. "And what's that?"

I was starting to get good with controlling my fangs. Parting my lips just enough so that she could see, I extracted them with a little bit of mental effort thrown in. The woman got the hint then, and quickly. She moved two steps back away from me, hands on her hips, leaving her chest exposed to me. I heard her swallow dryly, her heart pick up a notch. Clearly I was not the type of girl that you'd instantly assume was a vampire. I loved her shocked reaction to it, though. It filled me up with pleasure.

In a split second, her tune immediately changed. Her posture became less defensive, and she started running her fingers around again, caressing herself. "Well, you want a go with me instead, baby?" She was desperate and I was willing to bet that most of the humans in this place were. Evidently this was an establishment where vampires commonly went to in order to get a few willing bites and easy drops of blood in from extra desperate participants.

"No, I'm in no way hungry to bite any single part of you," I said to her, a bit on the frosty side.

Getting the message, loud and clear, the woman stormed off, not before throwing a wistful glance over at my Sheriff from behind her shoulder before she disappeared. This altercation had sent me truly over the edge; I was pissed-off.

"Why'd you bring me here to this place?" I demanded, keeping my voice well under control and quiet. "What is this place? A brothel or... or a stripper's club?" I had always thought running places like brothels in private were illegal in this day and age?

My Sheriff made a dry noise of amusement. "This is nowhere near a brothel or strip club."

"Oh, really?" I retorted, showing him I was not in the least impressed. "There's naked women around, dancing near other vampires laps. I think that's pretty much what a strip club is, isn't it? I thought you said that you were gonna be my surrogate maker, and that you were gonna help me learn the ways?"

"And I will. I am."

"So... I fail to see how this fits into any of that?"

"I suppose, in a sense, this is exactly like a strip club. But there is no sex here, under any circumstances. Simply dancing and the promise of a good show. These women and men are hookers, but not quite in the way you think." Eric made a gesture with his hand for me to look.

Eric's eyes were on the male vampire that was seated in the chair. When I followed his gaze, I was in for a quick shock. The woman was no longer dancing in front of the man. No, she was sitting on his lap, and he was feeding off the dancer. One of his hands was caressing and fondling her breasts while he sucked on her neck. Even where I was sitting, I spotted the blood dribbling down the side of her neck. I ran my tongue over the top row of my teeth, around my fangs without even being fully conscious that I was doing it, while I observed them.

How I felt upon seeing it was a big wake-up call, for me. I didn't feel a morsel of disgust. In fact, I was riveted. Not by watching one of his big hands squeeze and play with her breasts, while his other hand was slid into her hair, yanking her and keeping her still so she wouldn't move. It was more so that shiny stream of blood trailing down her neck that riveted me and had me fascinated like nothing else on the planet.

"Blood hookers," Sheriff Northman went on, and I tore my eyes away from the sight with some difficulty to find he was already watching me. "They're blood hookers, Sookie. Their job is to feed us, for two hundred dollars a drink."

"Two hundred dollars a drink?" I repeated, stunned by the pricey cost. "Wow, that's a lot. I couldn't afford that!"

"Well, that's why you're in luck tonight." He leaned slightly off the chair with his body, his hands folded in front of him while he peered at something past me an inch or so away from my face. "Tonight, I am going to buy you a blood hooker. My treat."

He lifted a hand, making a_ come here now_ gesture to somebody. Like it was a true sin to keep a Sheriff waiting, that someone breezed past me to stand over Eric. Then the person bent down while Eric whispered something into their ear and with a little understanding nod, the person turned to face me eagerly.

My jaw very nearly dropped open. It wasn't a woman dancer this time, but a man. And what a full-blown masculine male, he was. Tanned, thick tousled dark hair, and extremely toned. Thick meaty neck, tight white boxer shorts that showed how well he was packing it down there by the humongous bulge there. _Mmmm._ Very nice, indeed. Not as nice as my Sheriff, of course, but still pretty high up there.

"Sookie, this is Pablo. Pablo, this is Sookie, a baby vampire," my Sheriff introduced, while Pablo stared at me with radiant green eyes. He was so dreamy that I had difficulty not drooling. Listening to his mind, I heard that he had a very pronounced accent before he even spoke. He was Spanish; His thoughts a mingled English and Spanish combo.

"Eh, hello," he said, his English clearly quite limited. "Where you want, Sookie?"

It was like my brain was moving too slowly. I stared at his chest for a good, hard moment, eyeing off the bites around his darkened nipples before I shook myself out of it. "Um, here's just fine," I said dreamily, and without wasting another second, he crouched down to kneel on his knees in front of me. "Wow. You have a very, erm, gorgeous body."

Then he took both of my hands in his, and he made mine move over him, letting me feel around his chest and over his broad shoulders. He was so warm, his muscles soft and squidgy under my fingers. Also fairly oily and greasy, though that didn't concern me too much. I felt all giddy, like a young woman getting her first exciting taste of getting a lap dance from a man. I felt a shiver ripple through him when I ran my fingers of both hands over his flat nipples a couple of times curiously.

Tearing through my moment, I heard Eric clear his throat gruffly. When I dragged my eyes over towards him, I saw that he was not at all pleased. His jaw was set tight, lips compressed sternly. There was irritation there in his eyes. I wasn't completely sure why, but he looked very annoyed. "You don't need to touch him so much," he said, an edge there. "He is here for you to bite and feed from him. Try not to hesitate for so long."

And Sheriff Northman was absolutely correct, of course.

The hunky man was there for a reason, not just so that I could indulge myself in touching and feeling a man's skin for the first time. I was probably showing firsthand, to both the Spanish hunk and my Sheriff, just how long the depths of my inexperience went.

Putting myself in the right mindset, I turned back to the man, letting my eyes roam down his throat. Listening hard to nothing else but his body and focusing, I could see a pulse twitching at the side of his throat. I could hear the gushing of his warm blood, like a waterfall or stream. Saliva coated around both the roof and bottom of my mouth, drowning me. I felt a strange feeling in my fangs. A dull ache.

I was undecided on what to do, as obviously, I'd never so much as done this once before, in feeding from a human. Where was I supposed to bite? What if I hurt him too much? Most of all, what if I went overboard and couldn't stop?

"You'll tell me if I'm taking it too far, right?" I asked Eric nervously. The man sat my hands up on both of his shoulders and I gripped them tightly, feeling around. I may have even enjoyed the heck out of it. "You'll tell me when to stop so I won't end up draining him completely, right?"

"Of course. That's why I'm here." Again, he didn't sound too pleased. I was displeasing him, for whatever reason I might have.

Eager not to keep doing it, I sucked in a deep breath before bringing myself in, touching the tip of my nose against that hot, pulsating point of the man's throat. Excitement coursed within me in an unbelievable way, as I listened to his heart rate speed up a significant deal. The man was feeling just as excited, no doubt.

Then I opened my mouth, wide as it would go, positioned my fangs, and sank them in. It was surprisingly easy, as if my fangs were built for such a thing. They slid in as easy as a knife going through moist butter. The man jolted underneath me with a funny grunting noise, but he didn't seem too pained. That was when this warm, salty liquid filled my mouth. His blood. I swallowed the first mouthful quickly, then almost drew back in shock. It was the best thing I had ever tasted, in my whole five years of being a vampire. It tasted tons better than the synthetic stuff, that was for sure. It was all rich flavor and salty goodness.

I realized that I had been missing out on this for so long. This was exactly what I was designed for, this was why I was created. To enjoy warm, flavorsome, human blood. After a couple more swallows, I felt a change take over. I grew more aware of my surroundings, of the bass in the stereo rattling the window panes, the friction of fabric rubbing against skin. The blood going down into my stomach heated me up, until I felt all content and warmth. Everything in the room seemed to brighten even more vividly than it already was. Then I heard someone moan from faraway, and I didn't realize it was me, until I did it again, extra loudly and long.

Paying more attention to the man in front of me, I started hearing it then. His heartbeat getting all sluggish, slower. Someone's fingers curled around the back of my hair as I latched on with my mouth, drinking and sucking. I thought it was the man I was currently feeding on doing it, to encourage me, a few encouraging head pats. Then the fingers tightened and threaded through the strands of my hair to the point of pain, and I drew back, withdrawing my fangs out of the man's skin to discover it was my Sheriff doing all the hair yanking and pulling.

Something dribbled down my chin, falling on the front of my shirt, and I could feel the wetness of my lips as I met my Sheriff's eyes. His were glassy and filled with desire. His hand slipped out from the strands of my hair, cupping the back of my neck instead.

His eyes fell down to my lips and next thing I knew, he was moving in closer, shifting with his body on the small two-seater so that his kneecap knocked into one of mine. Then he was kissing me.

His lips crashed into mine, and a new hunger took over- one that was purely for my Sheriff, Eric Northman. I brought one arm up to rest my hand against his shoulder as he turned with his head, deepening our kiss. My limbs felt all jelly-filled and floppy. The poor Spanish man I had fed from and was now soaring high over thanks to consuming his blood was instantly forgotten. Instead, I felt all keyed-up and lusty, something to do with the way Eric's lips moved against mine. His tongue entered my mouth, and I met him halfway, touching his and scraping with mine to his in a fast and uninhibited fashion. I realized I felt drunk. I had only gotten tipsy once during my human years, and that was when my Gran had let me have two full glasses of white wine on Christmas Eve to celebrate.

It had been harmless at the time, but this felt exactly how it had felt then, when getting tipsy.

I no longer felt self-conscious or hyper-aware of myself and how I was acting in front of my Sheriff. I felt utterly at ease and relaxed. I was still at ease and buzzing when Eric took my bottom lip between his and pulled, sucking and probing with his tongue, and it took me a good long minute to realize it was his way of getting the blood off my mouth, and into him.

He was a vampire, too, after all. I supposed then that even an old, experienced vampire like him couldn't pass up a bloody mouth.

A moment later, I realized the extent of my giddy tipsiness when I full-blown cracked up laughing against his mouth. I pulled back quickly, covering my hands over my face while I giggled drunkenly loud with my head bent and hidden in the material of my work shorts. It literally came out of nowhere, and for no good reason, either. There was nothing hilarious at all about Eric kissing me; In fact, it simply served to make me like him even more, but it just happened. I hadn't the slightest idea whether it was a normal reaction for a vampire after having experienced her drink of real, human blood for the first time, but it wouldn't leave me, the hysterical giggles.

When I dared to peek over at my Sheriff, he was staring at me with arched eyebrows as if I was crazy.

"Oh, my stars," I got out through even more laughter. "I'm so sorry. I don't even know why I'm laughing for, but... that _was so_ good! Hell, it was better than I even imagined it would taste! At first, I wasn't so sure my fangs would even go in there properly, yet it turned out to be as easy as apple pie!" Controlling myself, I made myself stop laughing sternly, trying to keep all straight-faced. Yet one look at him just made me want to fall over with laughter again. "So, what's next?" I asked eagerly, nearly hopping on the seat with my butt. "What's the next lesson, dear old Sheriff of mine? My... my surrogate daddy? Are you gonna teach me how to glamour people now?"

I tried not to smile, and failed the instance I tried. I rocked back and forth with a few more giggles, nudging him with a shoulder against his playfully, before it settled in just how deadly serious Sheriff Northman was watching me. I didn't think I had seen him properly crack a smile since we'd met when he came into Merlotte's a couple of nights ago, or no less have a real belly-laugh.

"Is that some kind of vampire cardinal rule?" I asked him, breathless with laughter.

He blinked at me a couple of times slowly. "What?"

"You know, how... serious and straight-faced you look. Is that a rule that all vampires must do? Look all... deadly serious and never smile or laugh. Not even so much as show your goofy side to somebody. Is that a rule to being a good vampire?" If so, I didn't think I could hack it. I was too much of a cheery, happy-go-lucky woman.

Eric didn't bother replying; He just gave me a silent, pointed look. I didn't need to be able to read his mind to know what he was thinking. No doubt, he was getting to feeling I was such a goofy, strange girl.

Just for the sake of doing it, I banged my shoulder against his again, sort of foolishly hoping it'd make him loosen up. I was feeling not only giddy, but mushy with a weird smidgen of tenderness there. And... nothing. Not even the slightest hint of a smile came from him.

"Well, I guess so then," I answered myself brightly. "I'll take that as a yes. And in the meantime, I'll work on my straight face and try not to look so friendly." I laughed again, shaking my head. "Anyway, all in all, I consider that a success. Wouldn't you? Feeding from a human for the first time, I mean? He's still alive and I didn't go overboard with drinking from him, so that's a... a very good thing in my books."

"Why do you talk to yourself?" he asked me, unexpectedly. He was starting some random conversation I didn't know we were going to have.

"Talk to myself?" I repeated, confused. He was squinting at me, like he was trying to work me out. "Huh?"

"At your work, at... Merlotte's. When you were dealing with some of the humans, I heard you talk to yourself, as if you were answering a silent question? I heard you talking to yourself several times?"

I felt both my happiness and giddiness deflate by the second. _Ah, crap._ So he had picked up on that, after all...


	11. Chapter 11

**Firstly, I own nothing to do with TB. Hope you enjoy this one :) Thank you!**

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**Chapter 11**

Apparently Sheriff Northman was every bit as perceptive as I had pegged him for.

I knew he had heard me when I had my slip-ups those few times at work, in answering aloud thoughts. How could he not have heard, really? I had never really talked extensively to anyone about the nitty-gritty details that came with my telepathy before, aside from my Grandmother, Jason and, on certain occasions, my boss and Arlene; Those I truly trusted. Considering Eric was being nice enough as it was, in helping me out off his own back and very own goodwill, I realized there wasn't any point in hiding something so crucial as this from him. I deserved to give him something back after all, didn't I?

"If we're going to be talking about this, then I'd prefer we do this outside in my car in private," I told him seriously.

Despite how giddy I was still feeling- the aftereffects of the human blood I had just consumed, no doubt- I wasn't feeling foolish enough to take any chances. I didn't want to risk anyone else in the house overhearing. I suppose I had naturally learned to be cautious like that over the years, though unfortunately some humans may have guessed why I was so different already, considering my slip-ups around them, as well as my reputation.

"I don't want anybody overhearing and, plus, I have no particular interest in airing my dirty laundry out in here where anybody could hear. Is that okay by you? If we head back out into the car and I'll tell you all about it, then?"

He considered for a moment in silent thought. Then he shrugged and stood.

Without so much as thinking of what I was doing, I went to stand from the sofa, too, yet realized I couldn't. It wasn't without its difficulty in forcing myself upright into a standing position. My body seemed to argue against it, it clearly preferred siting down and being lazy right now while I was under the drowsy effects of the Spanish hunk's blood. I couldn't feel my legs, scarily enough. In fact, I felt like I was floating on an invisible cloud of well-being and euphoria.

I definitely felt high as a kite; Or, well, this was what I imagined being high on drugs had felt like. I had never indulged in any illicit drug taking while being human. I had been raised and taught to be a good, law-abiding Christian girl, after all. But I was most certainly feeling high now. Intoxicated on human blood, if there was even ever such a thing that could happen.

The floor beneath my feet seemed to move and I staggered sideways. An eruption of inappropriate laughter exploded from me yet again, and before I could so much as even get my bearings straight to comprehend completely what was happening, my Sheriff had one of my arms around his shoulders, supporting me and steadying me. I sagged into his side against him, my hand clutching a fistful of his leather jacket. And, for some ridiculous reason, it had never felt better; Being sagged against him, having him hold me up, my arm slung around his shoulders.

"I feel drunk or high. Maybe even both," I blabbed, without thought. I felt so intoxicated that I could hardly think straight into just what I was saying to him. I no longer seemed concerned with whether I was acting stupid in front of him. "Is that a normal reaction, as far as a vampire experiencing her first drink of real blood goes?"

"As far as I know, it's normal. Your body isn't used to it yet. The effects will wear off shortly." He had managed to guide me slowly past a few human dancers back out into the hallway.

The hallway was fairly narrow with two people walking through it, so I had to move in a fraction closer so that we could fit through in total without any trouble. My other arm came around his waist, fingers digging into the material of his shirt, so I was kind of clinging to him side-on like a baby monkey to its mother. I enjoyed the hell out of it, to be perfectly honest. The excuse to be closer, to feel my body pressing against his.

Boy, oh, boy, did I feel some pretty unhealthy things for him.

The drowsy effects of the blood started to cool off once we got outside the house into the darkness. I was dreading the second we reached my car from where it was, parked crookedly near the sidewalk, all by its lonesome. The closer we reached it, the more I'd have to work myself with effort into moving away from him, to no longer be near him with my body. I was definitely enjoying this way more than I ought to have; Now that there was fresh air surrounding me, it wafted over my face and I could feel myself coming slowly back down to rights again. Giddiness was instantly replaced with some strange melancholy feeling inside of me when, as we finally reached my car, Eric shifted slightly to reach down to open the passengers side of the car door open for me.

I was in big, big trouble.

It was scary, how much so that I liked him. I liked him to the point of it being dangerously excessive. Usually I knew better; Kept myself closed-off and guarded. It only served to bring back terrible memories of the first boy I'd liked, in high school.

His name was Bobby, and after secretly having the hots for him after a couple of months, I'd finally mustered enough courage to talk to him for the first time. We got to talking, one thing quickly led to another, and he was asking me out a date with him to the movies. He wasn't really in with the popular crowd; He was more so middle ground. I had agreed, and I felt so excited that I could hardly sleep that night when I got home from school.

Next day, I remember getting home early and fretting over what to wear on my first ever date with a guy. I had kept Gran up in the room with me all afternoon the instance I arrived home from school, demanding she help me out on what outfit to wear. Bobby had his license, and he said he would pick me up from my house. As it turned out, I had been played. He never showed up that afternoon to pick me up for our date. Funnily enough, the rejection still stung, even now.

I had went to confront him the next morning at school, only to find out that he'd simply been dared by his friends to ask me out. Me; Naive, quiet Sookie with her reputation of being a freak. After that horrible experience with a guy, I had told myself that I would never let myself fall for a guy ever again. He'd hurt me, and to be completely honest, it still hurt me. I still felt that sting of rejection whenever I reflected on it, on being stood up by Bobby and having found out he was simply doing it to amuse his friends, in asking me out. He hadn't actually liked me- it was just a big fun game he was playing with his friends, to make a total fool out of me.

Really, I oughtn't to have been so surprised. I suppose, in high school, I was like most other girls, despite my telepathy issues. Bobby was the first guy I'd ever been interested in, and I guess, I had my rose-colored glasses on, so much so that I didn't bother listening in with my disability ahead of time to truly figure out his real intentions. Now, I'd learned my lesson.

Only, I realized, things were different, when it came to my Sheriff.

He was silent mentally, as if his mind worked in a completely different way than normal humans did. I couldn't hear vampires, and that was so surreal, considering you'd think since I was now one myself, I'd have the same wave patterns as they did; When I concentrated and listened in hard enough, there was just pleasant white noise. I couldn't work out his intentions ahead of time, I was going to have to learn to trust my gut instincts. And my gut was telling me right now that he was simply doing this because he felt sorry for me; That to him I was such a pathetic, hopeless excuse for a vampire. He didn't like me on a personal level; He wasn't attracted to me, not like I had let myself idiotically feel for him, so quickly.

In order to protect myself and not let that incident with Bobby become another repercussion, but with my Sheriff this time around, I'd have to beat those feelings down. And immediately.

I managed to slid into the passenger's seat while he took my keys from me. Usually I didn't like people driving my car, because far as I saw it, my car was my own, I paid yearly to get it serviced, and I was very possessive over my run-down little yellow Honda. Yet when Eric got into the driver's seat and started my car up, I discovered that I could hardly care less. I was letting him drive my car; Something that was so out of the ordinary for me to do, with anybody. Yet here he was, in the front seat, in control of my car, and I didn't mind it in the slightest. I didn't mind sharing my car with him.

Besides, if anything, it was real smart thinking on his part. When I started feeling the sensations of the car moving, rolling over gravel, I leaned my head back into the seat while letting my eyes closed. I still felt high, so all in all, it was probably the safest bet, in letting Eric drive my car home for me. I was in no safe state to drive, after all.

Flopping my head sideways, I forced my eyes open so that I could stare at the side of his face dreamily while he drove. He was preoccupied on the road so, fortunately for me, I got the chance to ogle him for a good couple of minutes before he turned to look my way. He was about the best thing I had ever seen in my entire life, no exaggeration. I could hardly believe my luck; This vampire was willing to spend time with me, willing to put in the hard yards to teach me about my new life. My surrogate daddy. That I wanted to ... _Oh, shit._

He looked my way without warning, lifting a brow at me questioningly. "What?" he prodded softly, sort of uncomfortably.

"I could just go on staring at you straight into next week," I muttered, before realizing how both creepy and wrong that sounded.

If I had still been able to, I would have turned red as the color of a fire truck over having been caught out staring. Also, at the senseless words I'd just blabbed out. Jesus, what was he? A piece of delicious looking cake? Instead of blushing (something I could no longer do), I bit my lip and forced my eyes away from him, staring ahead out the windshield instead. Then I belatedly recalled what I was meant to be explaining, how I was meant to tell him about my disability. It wasn't too keen on having the conversation with him, to be frank. But really, I had to, didn't I?

"So why is it that you talk to yourself?" he asked me barely a moment later, his voice taking on an impatient and frustrated edge. Whoops.

"Well, I wouldn't exactly say I'm talking to myself. I wouldn't say it like that. It's more so that I'm... responding to silent questions."

"Do you mean you're schizophrenic?" Him asking me that, I found, real insulting. I might seem crazy to regular folk, especially when I tended to have my slip-ups, but I wasn't completely insane. Gran always liked to refer to it as me being rather... unique. That was probably a nice way of her saying that, but still.

"No, I don't mean it like that," I said defensively. "It's not like that at all."

He leveled a stare onto me again, his eyes squinted in confusion. "Then how is it, Sookie?"

"What I am, is not schizophrenic," I explained. "It's not that. What I am, is..." I paused for a moment anxiously.

I could envision where this was going, almost vividly. I'd explain it, and he'd run for the hills. Maybe even call me a few rude names before he did. It was the usual reaction given when people realized during my little slip-ups while answering their thoughts aloud by accident; Hurtful looks and even more hurtful names.

"I'm telepathic. I can hear thoughts." I made sure I kept my eyes on the road before us, though I did hear the rather loud hissing intake of breath that he made. Wasn't too sure what it meant, though. "That was what you most likely saw tonight, while I was working at Merlotte's. I had one of my occasional slip-ups and answered somebodies thoughts out loud. It tends to happen more so when I'm feeling nervous. Nervous or... insulted. One of the women I answered was being mean, thinking that I must have some kind of mental disability that makes me slow. So... I got cheesed-off." I shrugged, still making sure not to glance his way.

I waited, maybe even for a full minute for the hurtful words to be hurled at me. Oddly enough, it never came. He was dead silent, not only mentally inside his brain, but... in the car, too.

"Well, let's have it then," I beckoned, bracing myself for it.

"Have what, exactly?" I had no idea what he was thinking about my confession at all. His tone of voice revealed nothing.

"Call me a freak, a huge weirdo. Tell me that once you get me home, you're never gonna see me ever again, that I'm too crazy for you to teach, to be my surrogate maker." My tone was so bitter and angry. "Tell me that its no wonder that whoever made me this way neglected me. Tell me that my... my craziness is too hard for even you to handle. Go on." Still, I couldn't bring myself to so much as look his way, no even for the briefest of a second.

Then he said, somewhat brightly, "Well, I'm sorry to disappoint."

"Huh?" I slipped up, peeking his way. His eyes met mine, and much to my shock, he hardly looked disgusted at all. In fact, he almost looked impressed, I thought. Then again, with him, it was kind of difficult to tell. When I stared at him, holding his gaze, still waiting for it to hit me, it occurred to me slowly after every second of silence that ticked on by, that just maybe he wasn't going to react the way I was expecting him to. I was so used to people reacting badly that, to have him react good over the news, I felt so confused over how to respond myself. "What? You don't think I'm crazy or freaky, now that I've confessed to you that I have my telepathy?"

"Not at all, Sookie," he said, looking directly into my eyes in a way that seemed alarmingly sincere. "In fact, many vampires would kill to have your gift. You should consider yourself lucky." He tore his eyes away from me deliberately to focus on the road again.

I huffed out a disbelieving laugh. "I should consider myself lucky? Really?" It was the first time someone had ever dared to put it like that to me.

Eric nodded once, shooting a very grave look at me. "Yes, you should."

"Lucky is the very least of how I feel over it. Try calling it lucky to be like this, when you hear people's thoughts every damn day without even wanting to. You can't shut them out, you find it hard to concentrate. You can't even have your own train of thoughts half the time, no less, because... you're being driven crazy by everyone else's thoughts and opinions most of the time. You hear all the mean and discouraging things people are thinking, how... mean-spirited people can be. Thinking that you're a freak or evil, and... and trying to go to church and trying to put your best foot forward only to be constantly shot down by everybody thinking you're gonna go mental and murder everybody just for so much as being in the same room as them. Still gonna tell me I'm lucky after all that?"

After my little rant, I grew self-conscious over how open and honest I was being with him. I was telling him everything. Even moping around.

"And what about me?" he asked me. I felt my brows furrow. He certainly was not reacting the way I was expecting at all.

"What do you mean?"

"Can you hear me and what I'm thinking?" He sounded curious. And also cautious. I could tell he wouldn't have liked it if I could read him.

"Nope, I can't," I answered honestly. "Not with you. I can't seem to read any other vampires minds. There is just... white noise. Silence. Yet when I'm around humans, its all thoughts galore."

I thought I saw him relax a little into the driver's seat. "Well, I have to say that I'm fucking glad." Relief was evident in his voice, I could tell that much.

"Glad about what?"

"Glad that you are unable to hear me. Something tells me you would not like to know what I am thinking. Honestly, I would not like that either, if you could."

"Why? Because you think I'm just as weird as everybody else does, and that's simply the sole reason that you're bothering to do all of this?" I guessed confidently.

He made a strange scoffing noise through his mouth. "Get over yourself," he grumbled under his breath. "We'll beat that out of you in time," he added after a moment, determined.

"Beat what out of me exactly?"

"Your extremely negative attitude," Eric retorted back. For whatever reason, I had gotten him pissed off. "Not only that, but this lack of self-confidence that you seem to have about yourself. All of your doubts. Your extremely negative self-perception."

Just like that, he had gotten my hackles up. "You don't know me really at all," I spat back at him. "Don't presume to know me. You've only known me for- _what_? Barely two days?"

"Yeah, well. Two days is more than nearly enough."

"You try being in my shoes then, and you'll know what its really like. Trying your hardest to please everybody and do the right thing, only to get it spat straight back into your face with everybody's judgments. I bet you wouldn't be so hard on me then, if you knew just what it is that I go through when hearing what people think about me. Church is the worst, especially." I was merely venting, as woe-as-me it all sounded. It felt great getting it all off my chest.

"Oh? I wouldn't know what its like?" His voice was soft, yet taunting. "Sweetheart, I've been a vampire for over a thousand-years now. I think I would know better than anyone what its like, not only having to live in secrecy for over a millennium, but also... the preconceived notions humans have on us."

I actually felt on the verge of shouting. How this all happened to turn into an argument, so quickly, was anybodies guess. "Like I said, you have no idea what I myself personally have to go through. I'm talking about every single day, knowing that people think you're nothing more than a freak, that your weird and evil, that your gonna massacre your whole Parrish eventually..."

"So humans believe you to be a freak and evil?" he muttered, his voice rough. He wasn't full-blown yelling at me, he was just saying it all as if we were talking about the weather. Still, it didn't make it wound me any less. "As I said, get over yourself."

I gasped out loud in outrage. Not once did I ever expect this to happen. "Well, when you get it on a daily basis, all of this... non-stop mean thoughts and negativity, its a little hard to not start believing what people say about you. I'm sorry that I have a very negative sense of self, but... I suppose, that's what happens when you've been getting it nearly all your life. Pardon me that it's managed to rub its way in there deep somewhere along the line."

He gave me a very cold and very irritated glance. "Bullshit."

"Excuse me?" My voice shook as I very nearly shouted the words. Then I actually felt my eyes go blurry with moisture. Uh-oh, not good. Not good, at all. I was nearing crying point, which was the very least of what I wanted to do in front of him; When I cry, its messy, and I get blood everywhere. I really didn't want to have to go through that in front of him. I wanted some dignity left. "Sometimes its easier to believe all the negative things people say, rather than the positives." That was my excuse. "Haven't you noticed that yourself?"

"As I said, bullshit. You need to learn to forget what humans think of you, no matter how unfavorable it is. You say it is always easier to believe in the negatives rather than the positives? Then get over it, Sookie, like everyone else does." Apparently we were have a deep and meaningful therapy session. Though his voice was low, the words were strong and resonant. "So humans think you are a freak and weird? Get over it. There are surely a majority of others that accept you as you are, like your Grandmother for instance. Most vampires would kill to have the gift that you have. Most-"

"- Get over it? How can I possibly get over it?" I butted through him furiously. "You're one to talk. At least you actually have a maker, and not one that deserted you because they felt that you, for some reason, weren't good enough for them to bother sticking around. You know what I think? You want to know what I truly feel was the reason why? It was because the vampire that made me like this came to the dawning recognition that every other human I can read has, and that's that I'm... I'm a freak." I had suppressed talking about this for so long, bottling it all up inside, that it was alarming, how quickly it all came out. I was putting myself in a very vulnerable position, yet, I also felt safe with expressing my deepest, darkest fears to him. Deep down, I just had this belief that he would understand, better than anybody. "My own maker who made me like this realized how freaky I was himself! That's why I think he or she truly abandoned me!" Now that we were daring to do this, it all seemed to just want to spew out.

"No, your maker- whoever she or he was- did it simply because they were an asshole. They abandoned you because they were being an asshole," he argued back through gritted teeth. "It's not a reflection on you, it wasn't how they felt about you personally... they were just assholes, Sookie. They didn't abandon you because they felt that you weren't good enough, or that you weren't worth the time. They were simply being an asshole. Sometimes that is what vampires do; It isn't a rarity for a vampire to make another vampire and then desert them. It has no reflection on the vampire they made, it isn't their fault. It was their own makers fault for being a flaming, negligent asshole."

After his own heated rant, I was stunned speechless.

For a very long time now I had wondered whether it was just me, that whoever made me this way up and left because they felt I personally was not worth the effort in teaching me, or the time. Eric seemed to know exactly what to say to reassure me; I didn't know how he did, but it was precisely what I needed to hear from someone, another vampire especially. Because those feelings and niggling doubts over what had happened had plagued me over the years, to the point where I was starting to blame myself; To get the suspicion that they had only abandoned me because they realized how incompetent a vampire I'd make.

And golly, he was right. I so did have a negative self-perception.

"Well, asshole or no asshole, if there's one thing that I _do know_ for sure, its that someday... somehow, I would very much like to find out who did this to me, which vampire was responsible and just why it was that they made me like this," I told him, meaning it with all my heart. "I don't know if it'll help with offering me some closure, but... is there some kind of way possible that you could somehow ask around for me, as part of your Sheriff duties?"

"I definitely could ask around," he agreed after a moment. "I could ask around and search into just which vampires were around Bon Temps the night you were made vampire five-years ago."

"Thank you then," I said truthfully. "Because that would help a lot. Sometimes I honestly feel like just randomly heading out and asking whichever vampire nearest to me that I can find, 'Are you my maker?'" I cringed as I imagined myself asking that, like a desperate child searching for her true parents. Which, in a sense, I was. "You think that'd work any, if I did ask every vampire I saw whether or not they were my maker?"

Eric made a deep noise of amusement in his throat. "Oh, I would not recommend it. But yes, I will search around and make some inquiries. I can't say how long it will take, however; I cannot give you an estimate, regardless of how rough that estimate may be. What I can tell you, is that it may take a long while." He appeared almost apologetic.

"I don't care, however long it takes so long as answers are eventually given into why. But do you ever just get the feeling that you aren't cut out for something, though?" I asked him desperately. "Like when you see people, you think, 'Oh, they aren't very good at their profession. They're hopeless.' Well, that's how I feel about being what I am now. I just... sometimes, I feel like I'm not right for this lifestyle, that I'm a... a hopeless cause."

That wave of melancholy hit me again. I wasn't sure where all of this was coming from, but I suppose, it was all deep down in there somewhere, all my doubts and fears.

"Stop having a pity party." That broke through my questioning silence from him, without any sympathy whatsoever. Just when I was about to argue back, he added quickly, "Everyone has to deal with the hand they are dealt. We become what we are. There is no right way or wrong way on how to be a vampire, you do it the way you have to do it. You have a gift that many would kill for, even go so far as to obtain if they could, as it would be very beneficial to have a telepath on your side, and yet, you scorn it. You have a human Grandmother who no doubt loves you, and a human brother who does also. Fuck everyone else in your backwoods town if they look down on you, or make you feel in anyway inferior to them. You choose to listen to the opinions of those who care about you, and then you ignore what everybody else says. They have no power over you, they can't tell you what to think or how to feel. If humans in your backwash town feel you are a freak because of your gift, fuck them. You're better off without them then."

I didn't realize we had reached my Grandmother's home until he pulled in and started up towards the house. Somehow, by some miracle, Sheriff Northman knew exactly where I lived.

"Most humans can only dream about the chance of becoming what we are. We get the opportunity to live for an endless amount of time. We do not get sick or any diseases, we are privileged. You were made into a vampire that night five years ago, and you can never go back from that. You either learn to adapt and deal with it, or you can keep on having your pity parties."

It was probably the meanest thing somebody had said to me. And also the most straight-to-the-point and true. Tough love, as they say. He was giving me tough love, a big boot up my behind. Eric was right, of course. I had to learn to let go of what everybody else thought, and teach myself that I was fine. I was just fine the way I was, I was alive and lucky, and I wasn't a freak or anything close to it.

Him getting out of my car startled me and pulled me away from my thoughts. I got out myself while he locked my car up for me. We met each other at the front of my car, standing around, staring at each other in silence. I guess, after all that had been said in the car, neither of us knew now what more to say.

"You're right and I know it," I said hesitantly. "I need to let go of what happened in the past or what negative things people think about me. And I _do_ want to embrace this life, I really do. I don't know why you're being so nice to me or why you're bothering to help no less, but I... I do need your help to do this."

"You want to know why I'm really doing this?"

"Yep, I do. So it isn't simply because you feel pity for me?"

"That's not even close as to being the reason why." He handed my keys to me, our fingers brushing for the briefest moment, as I peered up at him desperately through the dark around the yard. A half smile curled up his lips. "Why am I bothering to do this for you? I know it may be hard for you to believe, but it is simply because I like you, that's why. There is something within you that I find myself liking." His words were soft and earnest, his eyes holding mine seriously.

He _liked_ me. That was such a difficult thing for me to accept and let sink into my brain, that possibility.

I brushed that off with a shrug and a tentative smile. "Oh, I'm sure."

We stood around for a moment longer, neither of us saying anything else. I got to wondering whether he would kiss me goodnight. A part of me would have actually loved it if he had taken that move. Instead, he did something else that I wasn't expecting, showing off.

As if someone had thrown an invisible piece of string around him, he sprung into the air, leaving me near flabbergasted. And hell, envious as all hell.

"Holy hell," I whispered in wonder as he floated above me. "Is it possible for me to do that as well?"

"Why don't you see for yourself."

Foolishly excited at the prospect of being able to fly, I bent down low then attempted to put all my hard effort into jumping. And... nothing. I simply landed back down onto my feet.

"Maybe tomorrow night?" Eric suggested gently, probably noticing how disappointed I was that I couldn't get up there into the sky near him. I watched him fly away, feeling both angry with myself, and sad that he was leaving. _Tomorrow night, though._ I was filled with a new sense of determination and purpose. Tomorrow night, I would learn how to fly. Peter Pan, eat your heart out.

**Hope this wasn't a let-down? Just felt like touching on Sookie's issues and fears. Hope it wasn't too annoying; She just needed to vent, and Eric's the only empathetic ear she has right now. Thank you so much!**


	12. Chapter 12

**First, I own nothing to do with TB or any of the characters. I'm just doing this for fun, as a fan.**

**Sorry I took a while to update again. My Uncle passed away from a heart attack so I really haven't been in the mood or up to it, so I apologize if this isn't very good. Or if the tone is a bit darker and different than previously.**

**Thank you all so much for your support and your lovely words in reviews, I really wasn't expecting that! **

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_**Chapter 12**_

I was filled with a sudden sense of panic once I got inside. The television was muted down in the living room. Though I couldn't hear any sounds coming from it, I could hear the electricity pulsing there. Then I heard fingers rubbing against paper as a page was turned. It could only mean one thing: Gran was still up, and she was waiting for me.

I hoped it wasn't too obvious just what I had been doing tonight; When I glanced down at my clothes, just to check and make sure there was no evidence left on me from that hunk I'd drank from, I was pleased to find there was hardly any drops on me at all. Well, there was one small stain, on the middle of my shirt, but it could have easily been from anything else other than a human. For all Gran knew, it could have simply been a drop of ketchup, or cranberry juice.

When I edged closer to the living room, I saw Gran in her spot in her armchair, reading one of her romance books. Her back was propped up by pillows and already, she was in her comfy long white nightgown. Her hair was brushed out.

"Hey, Gran," I greeted, before heading back out to hang my bag up on the rack by the front door.

I heard her give out a startled laugh. "Oh hello, dear. I mustn't have heard you get in just then."

"Well, I'm sorry to startle you." I came back around the corner into the living room, pleased to note that her nose was literally buried in the book she was reading. "You reading another one of your favorites again, Gran?"

"Oh, yes." She laughed. "This is probably my fifth time of reading this one." Then, much to my disappointment, she peered up at the time on the clock on the wall. "Your home later than usual, dear? Is everything all right?"

Damn, typical of her to notice. "I met someone tonight, and we went out after work." It was the only excuse I could think of, at the top of my head.

"Oh. As in a date perhaps?" She turned to look at me, excitement there on her face.

"Um, no. I wouldn't call it a date exactly. But he's, um..." I hesitated for a moment, uneasily. I'd always hated lying to Gran. In fact, I'd lied a lot to her lately, and it didn't make me feel all that crash-hot. Could this one bit of truth really hurt her? "He's like me."

"Like you?" It was clear to me that Gran was struggling. "How so exactly?"

"Well, he's... a vampire, like me. He's going to be teaching me all the ways."

Gran said nothing for a very tense, long moment. Really, she didn't have to say anything for me to know she wasn't all that happy about it. She looked at me in a way that told me as much, if not by her thoughts alone. It was a stern, reproving look that almost made me feel like I was a child again, rather than an adult stuck permanently in a twenty-five year old's body.

"What's that look for, Gran?" I sighed. "You know that there's no good point of denying this anymore. I'm a member of the undead community now, and I think its high time that I started acting like one."

I had never really stood up to Gran before. I used to force myself to believe it was simply because I was a go-with-the-flow type of girl, that Gran knew best. Now, I thought I was ready to start thinking and doing for myself, no matter what Gran would think or how she'd react. When she simply stared at me in bewilderment, I went and sat next to her on the couch, waiting for her to say something. Apparently she didn't know what to say.

"Honey, I just... are you sure that's wise?" she asked uncertainly, after a very long time. "I know that this has been very hard on you. Only the Good Lord knows it has been a struggle on all of us... as a family, but you..."

She paused for a moment, thinking deeply. Then, surprising me, she made a noise of dismissal at the back of her throat, shrugging a thin shoulder.

"Well, I suppose you're right. You are an adult now, and you make your own mistakes to learn from. It's your way now, and if you want to go out with another vampire, then I suppose I have no say in it, do I?" She bookmarked her page and then closed up her book, placing it on the coffee table. "All I've ever wanted, for both you and Jason, was for you both to be happy. I know things have been incredibly hard for you, after what happened five years ago. I suppose, with that, you can't surely expect things to remain the same, can you, dear?"

Now I was the speechless one. Of all the things that she could have said to me, I wasn't expecting this. For Gran to be so understanding.

"I just worry that you'll get into some kind of trouble you won't know how to deal with, as any Grandmother or parent would," she went on. "But really, I know that you know whats best, and you'll always do whats best. I just hope you won't get into any accidents, or you'll end up murdering somebody. But, I suppose, with that said, its your way now. You've got to learn on your own now, and me cotton-balling you like I have isn't the best way, is it?"

"Well, I fed on someone tonight, my first time. And I never killed them. I never went overboard, so I guess you ought to take consolation in that."

Gran stared at me almost in horror, but then fixing herself, she tried to look less shocked. "It's what you do now, and I'll try to understand that," she said, almost restraining herself. I guess I could understand; It would come as a shock to anybody to picture a family member biting another human and sipping their blood for food.

"Just imagine yourself eating the same meal every hour of the day, Gran," I said, trying to make it easier on her to swallow down. "You get sick of it after awhile, and you find yourself craving a...similar alternative. Could you really blame me for at least wanting to try?"

"No," Gran said, after a moment of thought. "I suppose I wouldn't like that either. You'd get sick of eating the same old supper after awhile."

"Exactly." I smiled at her. "That's just how I felt, Gran. It wasn't me trying to be deliberately malicious or... or immoral, but I just needed that change."

"Are you coming to church on Sunday?" Gran was getting unnerved by the topic; I could tell.

I mulled that over for a moment, my mind protesting at the thought. Usually I just forced myself to go to church so Gran would feel comfortable. It was a routine we used to naturally do together. I had wanted to show her that I could still be me; The Sookie that loves the daylight, that loves tanning and was a good Christian girl. But now... I found even attending church was no longer something I'd wanted to do. Since we were already having a few heart-to-hearts, I decided I might as well keep it going.

"Honestly? No, Gran. I'm sorry but I don't think I want to keep attending church of a Sunday anymore."

I could tell that was even harder for Gran to come to grips with.

"Please, it's not that I don't believe in God anymore, Gran," I assured her hastily. "I do. It's more so that I... I want to start living with self-respect. I can hardly stand it, going to church anymore; Not while hearing everybody thinking hurtful things about me, that I don't belong. Maxine Fortenberry, especially. She has a habit of making me constantly feel like the black sheep, like I don't belong and that I'm the devil incarcerated. It starts taking its toll, making me start believing what everybody thinks of me. And honestly, I don't want to live like that anymore. I'm tired of being ashamed or letting people make me feel I'm inferior. Nobody should really have to put up with that. I'm finally deciding to put my foot down."

I didn't know where all this strength came from, to be so honest to Gran. I thought my enlightening talk with Eric in the car had something to do with it, though.

"I'm not evil," I went on strongly without thinking, "And I'm no devil. I'm not inferior or worthless, just because of what happened to me, something I had no choice or say in from the beginning."

"No, you definitely aren't," Gran said, her voice quivering with anger. "You are not evil, and you most certainly aren't a devil. I had no idea it got that badly for you, dear. I hadn't known how terrible Maxine Fortenberry could be."

"Yeah, and its not your fault," I told her seriously. "You couldn't have known. But its becoming detrimental and I don't want to have to stand listening to all of that prejudice anymore, Gran. It doesn't mean I don't believe in the Lord or anything like that. I still have my old beliefs; I simply just won't be coming with you to church on Sundays anymore. I used to get it all the time because people felt I was different over my telepathy and, now, I get it even more because I'm a vampire. I don't want to have to listen to that anymore. And besides," I added, a bitter smile curling up my lips, "I bet Maxine Fortenberry and all the others will be pleased to see you turn up without me being there. I bet they'll treat you better again, too."

Poor Gran, and all the things she'd have to go through because of others simple-mindedness. Maxine, and all the other women in attendance, had started to shun Gran from ever talking to them. Gran didn't let them see that she cared, but surely she had to, deep down, inside. And I hated being the one that was the main cause for that.

"Oh, I won't be talking to them anytime soon, especially not Maxine then after hearing all that she has done to you," Gran said. "Honey, I never realized just how bad it got for you."

"Well, now you do. And it's fine." Seeing as I couldn't think of anything else to say, I stood and bent over to give Gran a kiss on the cheek. "I'm gonna get to bed." She made a content noise, lifting a hand to pat me gently on my cheek with her wrinkled fingers. Then I somewhat regretted it, because up close, I felt how warm she was. How alive. My fangs shot down and I whirled back in embarrassment, covering my hands over my mouth.

Gran just laughed, waving her hand at me dismissively. "Honey, its okay. I know you aren't gonna hurt your Grandmother."

"I'm so sorry, Gran!" My voice was muffled by my palm. "I never meant anything by it, I swear!"

"I know that, honey. There's no need to stress. You sleep well."

I was still horrified at the behavior of my fangs when I got upstairs and into my room. I got changed into a long T-shirt for bed then as I went out into the bathroom to brush my teeth and wash my make-up off, my fangs only retracted once I let them soak in toothpaste and ice-cold water.

Once I closed my bedroom door, I sped over to my bed, pulling my covers back while sighing in delight at the comfort of it all. I stretched out with my arms and legs, closing my eyes. Then I brought one hand down under the sheets, running my fingers along my inner thigh. Picturing it was someone else's hand doing it and not my own. I stopped still for a moment, opening my eyes to peer up at the dark ceiling, startled; It being something I'd never done before.

I tried it again, picturing real hard my Sheriff touching me, and in a surprising reaction, a pleasant tingle came from down there between my legs. I felt my nipples harden under the shirt and, next thing I knew, my fangs were back out, too. I was not one-hundred-percent certain but I believed it had something to do with how strangely aroused I was all of a sudden feeling.

I ought to have felt guilty. This was not what a good girl did. Astonishingly, guilt was the least of how I felt.

I hadn't ever been with a man before, especially not intimately. But closing my eyes tight, I tried to picture it. How it'd be. My first time. With him.

I skimmed my thigh again, while my other hand, I let go under the neck of my shirt. I found my left breast, and gave it a nice squeeze, imagining Eric doing it, his masculine hands all over me. Eric peering down at me, while I wiggled between him, both of us with our fangs out and throbbing. The gleaming wild look in his eyes for me; Both predatory and lustful.

I ran my fingers over my inner thigh again, just where the start of the sides of my underwear began. Then I let a finger slip through. I paused for a moment, breathing heavily, expecting that guilt to hit me. Only it didn't. I still didn't feel guilty at all. Plus this was only natural after all, wasn't it? Curling my fingers, I started massaging myself, getting real quick and rough with it all.

_You like it like this, Miss Stackhouse? Sookie?_

A moan escaped my mouth. With my eyes closed, mouth open and breathing shakily, I allowed myself to rub faster, and faster, and faster...

"Yes, Eric!"

When it happened, it was as though everything had shattered around me. A blinding flash of white light hit my eyelids, something glorious exploding within me, and I very nearly shouted, if I hadn't bit down on my lips to keep quiet hard enough.

This was my first orgasm. Or, I was supposing it was an orgasm I had just experience and nothing more life-threatening. And it featured my Sheriff. Something told me I wouldn't quite be able to look him in the eye again, after having done this.

Then a terrible pain shot through my mouth, and my lips felt wet. I hurriedly stopped to turn over on my side to turn on the lamp, and when I touched my lips with my fingers curiously, they came back with streaks of blood.

Terrified and unsure of what was happening, I got out of bed and dashed over to look at myself in my mirror on my dresser. I had bitten hard enough for my fangs to rupture the skin on my bottom lip, two little fang marks there. Guess that was what happened when you try to stifle it. Then, as if by magic, they slowly started healing over, and I let myself laugh abashedly in shock.

Crawling back into bed on my stomach and switching off the light, I fell quickly into a deep sleep, throbbing still all over.

* * *

I found myself at church again, sitting alone in a row all by myself. Gran wasn't there. It was just me; Me, and a bunch of other people. I looked around me, finding Maxine Fortenberry sitting straight across from me in the next row. She gave me a toffee-nosed, rude look.

_Why does she still insist on coming here... Stupid little bitch... Why must we have to put up with her and endure it?_

I didn't know how I got there, or why I was there. Hadn't I told Gran that I didn't want to go anymore, that I couldn't stand all the degradation and judgments everybody had made of me anymore?

The entire church had a strange feel about it. The setting was slightly blurred, and I couldn't make out the pastor. In fact, I couldn't even make out him making his speeches and sermons. Everything had a blurred, fuzzy edge around it. When I focused on the windows, there was no light streaming in. It wasn't morning, as it usually was. Church wasn't being held of a daytime. It was now night.

I heard someone sit down in the row of seats behind me, only when I craned my neck to peer back at them curiously, their face was blurred, worst of all. There was a power emulating off them, a palpable otherness. They were like me. They were what I was.

They were a vampire.

Frowning, I looked back up towards the blurry pastor. Then a hand whipped around my throat, a man's hand. It wasn't hard enough to seriously wind me, but it was a tight, strong grasp. I stiffened in my seat, gulping.

"Do you know what you are to them, Sookie?" A man suddenly asked. The vampire from behind me. He moved close, closer enough that I could feel his mouth against my ear. His voice was low, unrecognizable to me, with a slight accent. It wasn't somebody I recognized; It certainly wasn't Eric's voice. I'd know straightaway if it had been him. "Look at them, all of them," he went on, and his fingers tightened around my throat, enough to gave me a little shake. "They think they're better than you are, the fools. But they aren't, are they? You're something they will never be. You're a vampire."

I whimpered as his mouth came closer, his lips brushing against the shell of my ear.

"They think you're a freak, that you're evil, that's what they think, Sookie. And are you a creature of evilness? Are you a freak, like they feel you are?"

"No," I heard myself speak tonelessly. It was like I was talking underwater, as though my voice came from far away.

"But you want to know what you actually are, don't you?" His hand at last loosened from my throat, so that he was no longer squeezing down and holding me rigid in my seat. Then he started using his other hand, brushing his knuckles down my cheek. "What you are, is death. You're a creature of death, and that's what they deserve, don't they?"

I felt my face fall with skepticism. "I don't know what they deserve."

The male vampire made a noise of impatience, clicking his tongue. "Wrong," he spat out, shaking me again by the throat. I closed my eyes tight when they began stinging unpleasantly. "They think you're nothing more than a freak, a lowly freak, and evil. So why don't you show them what that truly means, to be evil? Show them just how evil you can truly get?"

"No," I got out nervously. "I'm none of that."

"Aren't you?" The words were derisive, cutting. "They think you're a big joke. They wouldn't hesitate to turn on you, to silver you up. To stake you, because you're just an abomination to them. Not human... not anything of significance." I could feel the tears building up on my eyelids. A lump gathered in my throat. He was saying what he knew would cut me best.

His hand stopped its stroking, until it reached the bottom of my jaw. He grasped my chin in his hands, tight, knocking my head to the side at an angle harshly. My teeth clicked together.

"Open your eyes," he commanded angrily. "Look at them."

Reopening my eyes, they focused on Maxine Fortenberry again. She was sneering at me, her lipstick coated lips curled back in disgust.

"Does it look like they think you're none of that, Sookie?" He was taunting me, goading me. "Doesn't look like it to me. You're a creature of death, and that's what they deserve, isn't it? They deserve to die for how they've treated you, don't they?"

Just when I was about to protest, the words died in my throat when the noises came then. Everyone in the church seemed to turn to look at me, their faces showing their disgust and hatred plain for me. Then it was there, taunting me. A chant.

_Stupid little bitch..._

_Freak..._

_Can't she see we don't want her here... Don't belong..._

_Satan's whore..._

Something broke and cracked then. I wasn't sure if it was all the man's doing, in taunting me, or if it was just me. I gritted my teeth so hard they began to ache, my fangs extending. A ripple of rage surged through me, trembling me from head to toe. This vampire, somehow, knew how to taunt me over my very worst fears.

"Show them, Sookie," the man said, sounding satisfied by my reaction. "Show them what an evil vampire truly looks like. Embrace your nature, which is death alone. Kill them! Kill them all; It'll be the least of what they deserve!"

I felt conflicted then. I wanted to, I wanted to make them pay for giving me hell. Yet another side of me told me it was wrong, that I wasn't the murdering type, that I never wanted to be that type, ever. Even if I had to fight against my nature and what it represented, like this mysterious vampire was telling me. It was an instant repellent to me; The thought of murdering a whole church full of humans.

"Kill them, or else you'll always be the freak, the evil one who doesn't belong." Helpless on what I was supposed to do, I went to stand, and he let me. He let me know he was standing, too, by the way his hands flattened against my shoulders and his clothes brushed against mine. "That's it, Sookie," he murmured, bending down to press a kiss into the arch of my neck. "Don't stand for it anymore. Kill them. And, besides, as your Maker, I command you to."

Those words left me feeling as though as I'd been punched in the gut. His words held a power I didn't quite understand and, before I knew what I was doing, my legs started moving as though I was a puppet being pulled by string. Maxine Fortenberry stood from her chair, and I approached her until we were face level. Her expression hadn't changed a bit; Lips pulled back, eyes squinted in disgust, like I was nothing.

My arms came around her, like I was hugging her big frame. But then my mouth found her neck, and I bit down with my fangs, with such savagery I didn't know I possibly possessed. She squirmed, making a terrible noise; A long, hard scream.

I didn't care, though. She had always been such a spiteful, venomous person, yet her blood didn't taste at all like poison. It was rich-bodied, warm. I disengaged my fangs from her skin, and then I bit again and again, in various other places, enjoying the way it felt to have her squirm and squeal. The last bite on the middle of her throat, I bit wide and hard enough to get a good hold of her, then once I'd felt satisfied enough by my work, I tore my fangs off rather instead of disengaging them from her skin as to not make her hurt.

Her throat came off with me in a thick, meaty chunk, and then she collapsed straight to the floor, gasping and retching, her throat open, blood streaming everywhere on the floor at my feet.

"Very good, Sookie," I heard the man laugh in glee, clapping his hands. "Already, you've done me proud. You see, this is what we are, and this is what we'll always be! We are death and we are designed to kill!"

Women started with their high-pitched screaming as they looked down and saw Maxine's body, the blood and life running out of her. Then another woman went to leave, I scurried towards her, and it was too late. I caught her just in time to pull her back, my mouth fastening onto her neck.

My eyes popped open and my room came into view. It had just turned day; I could see the light from outside my curtains.

I wasn't back there, in church. I hadn't murdered anybody, thank goodness for that. It was just a dream. A terrible dream. But not only was it a dream, but I thought also, it was one of my worst nightmares. My biggest fears. Losing total control. Finding my Maker and discovering that he was a sick, sadistic vampire that preyed on humans. That he'd expect me to kill, too. They were my biggest fears. I wasn't sure why a dream like that would ever come to me, but I wondered if my conversation with Gran about church had somehow carried over into my dreaming world.

One thing was for certain, I had to find my maker. I had to learn who he was, and ultimately, why he chose to make me the way he had. And, hopefully, with Eric's help, eventually I would.


	13. Chapter 13

**Firstly, I own nothing to do with TB. Thank you all so much for your kind words and even your condolences over my Uncle's death, it means a lot. Thank you! Writing has proved to be a great distraction****. I would love to know your thoughts. Thank you!**

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**Chapter 13**

When I woke at 7.30, I realized that I had the entire morning up until 12 at noon all to myself. I didn't start my shift at Merlotte's until then, which meant I could take the morning easy. I didn't bother getting dressed out of my sleep shirt, seeing as I was due for a shower later before work, so instead I slipped into my comfy nightgown before heading downstairs.

I could hear that Gran was already awake, doing something in the kitchen. When I popped my head in, I was greeted with the smell of melting butter in a pan and sausages sizzling away. If I had still been human, my stomach might have grumbled and I would have found passing up some of Gran's homemade sausage too hard to resist. Instead, I hardly had an appetite for Gran's cooking anymore. It smelled real good, though.

"Hey, Gran," I said. "Looks like somebody is keeping themselves busy this morning."

"Well, yes," she hummed. "Your brother is coming around for breakfast. I thought we could all sit together for awhile and spend some quality time." Gran, as usual, was all for family time.

"So all that food your cooking is just for Jason?" I asked, pretending to be more outraged than I truly was. I strode over to the refrigerator, grabbing myself out a bottle of AB Positive. "Hope he knows how spoiled he is."

"Oh, it's not all for your brother and believe me, that boy already knows he gets it good. It's for me, too. I have to eat, too, you know."

"I know, Gran. I'm just playing." I opened the microwave and set the timer to go off in fifty seconds, just enough so that my blood wouldn't be so cluggy. "How did you sleep last night?"

"All right, dear. I thought I heard you making some noises of distress in your room, though. Were you having another one of your nightmares?"

I did have my nightmares, every now and then. I just hadn't realized that I'd apparently been loud enough that Gran would have heard me. "Yep, I had another one," I simply said, keeping it short and simple. I didn't exactly feel all that up to having to admit to her just what my dreams were about exactly. "This one was different than the other one, though. Different in a big way." The microwave beeped and I snatched my blood out, shaking it vigorously while turning to watch Gran as she threw some pieces of bacon into the pan.

"You want to talk to me about it?" she asked with concern. "You know that I am always here whenever you are in need, don't you?"

"I know that Gran, of course I do." Just to buy myself some time, I uncapped my bottle, disposed of the lid into the trash, and quickly held the neck of the bottle to my lips, chugging it down like a college frat boy sculling down beer after beer. Gran's eyebrows shot up in bewilderment over my behavior and, honestly, the look on her face was almost priceless. Once I got halfway through the bottle, I stopped, licking my lips with a sigh. I almost cracked up laughing at the way she was still watching me. "Really, I don't particularly want to talk about my nightmare with you, Gran. It would only just freak you out, and I don't want that."

"Well, I think you ought to give me a little bit of credit, honey," Gran said, rather scolding. "I'm made of a lot tougher stuff than you think."

"Oh, and don't I know it." Deciding it wouldn't hurt if I told her a few little minor details, I explained while pulling out a chair for myself at the kitchen table, "Okay, well... It was about my maker. I had a dream that I was finally with my maker, and he... well, let's just say he wasn't all that nice."

"Your maker?" Gran repeated slowly, pursing her lips thoughtfully. Gran still wasn't completely up to knowledge with this whole vampire thing. Really, neither was I, I guess. "As in your-"

"-The vampire that made me how I am now, yes," I clarified honestly. "The vampire that did this to me five years ago, he's called my... my maker."

Gran switched down the stove so that she could pull up a chair to sit beside me, giving me all her attention. "And you want to know who did this to you that badly?" I couldn't even begin to tell whether Gran believed it was a bad idea or not. She simply sounded curious and if she needed to understand on a better level. "This has been worrying you for quite some time, pet?"

I tried to figure out how to explain it best, while I gripped my warm bottle of blood. "I wouldn't say its keeping me up all night. I'm just... finding myself curious to meet them, whoever he- or she- might be. Way I see it, it's like when an adopted person starts wanting to find their biological parent, the person that created them. That's all I see it as, Gran. I need to know who did this to me, and why...Out of sheer curiosity, is all."

"But what if the reason they did this to you wasn't for any reason good? What then?"

I took in a deep breath. "I think I'm cautious to... that possibility, too, Gran. Sure, there's a likelihood that they did this to me just because they were being plain mean-spirited, but I can't rest until I know for sure just why they did what they did to me."

"And do you have any hunches on just who it might have been? That vampire that you said you'd gone out with last night, perhaps?"

I thought that over for a moment. I hadn't asked Eric whether he was actually my maker or not, but something told me... he wasn't. Why else would he offer to help me find my maker, if he really knew himself that it was him? He wouldn't lead me on like that now, would he? That just didn't seem to make one bit of sense to me.

"No, I know he isn't the one who made me like this, Gran. In fact, I'm pretty damn positive it wasn't him," I told her, strong on the matter. "He's actually helping me with starting to track down my maker. He has... connections." That was really the mild way of putting it. He was actually my Sheriff, which I was assuming put him in a fairly powerful position compared to other vampires. "He actually said he'd look into it for me by asking around, see if anybody knows anything."

She gave me a rueful, small smile. "And has there been any luck yet with him doing that?"

"Nothing, so far. But really, its a bit early. I only asked him if he'd mind doing some asking around just last night when he drove me home." With my advanced senses, I heard what was going on from outside the house. I heard a truck engine rumbling as it pulled up, immediately recognizing it as Jason's. "You better start dishing out, Gran," I said, both meaningfully and playfully.

She blinked at me in confusion. "Oh? Why's that, dear?"

"Because Jason's here and no doubt he'll be pissed to see you haven't dished up his plate of breakfast yet," I explained, matter-of-fact, hearing his shoes scuffling against the planks on the porch as he started climbing up the stairs to come inside.

With perfect timing, the fly-screen door clattered open and Gran made a soft noise while placing a hand over her chest. "My stars, Sookie. You heard that all the way from where you were sitting?" Gran was impressed. She didn't know the full extent of my abilities yet that came along with my new nature.

"I sure did," I said, leaning back in my chair with a smile. "It's one of the perks to being what I am now. And while you're at it, you better take that bacon off the stove. It's nearing burning point," I added, just as Jason came in through the doorway.

Startled, Gran rushed over to the stove to turn it off completely before grabbing the pan handle and moving it away. As I watched her start dishing out, surely enough, the bacon was crispy brown with black edges.

A weird peaceful silence fell around the table while I watched Gran and Jason eat their food. Gran always ate real neatly and prim and proper, with taking her time to chew and cutting her bits of food up into small pieces.

Jason, on the other hand, was the messiest eater if I ever saw one. And one of the quickest, too. He wolfed his down like he hadn't eaten in months- something which I knew was so not true. When he had picked up one of his sausages with his fingers instead of his cutlery and started shoving it in his mouth, I could hear the noises of his teeth grinding together, the sausage meat being gnawed down. An annoyed shudder rippled though me when I heard him swallow it down.

"My God, Jason. Are you a horse?" I asked, shaking my head in dismay. "Did you grow up in a barn or something?"

He gave me a look and said, voice muffled with food, "No. Why the hell do you say that, sis?"

"Because you sure are eating like you were," I said, not bothering to hide my disgust. "Close your mouth, please. Not everybody here at the table wants to have to put up with not only hearing you chew with your mouth open like a pig, but also your food going down into your stomach and digesting."

"Damn. You can hear all of that, Sook?"

"Okay, well. Maybe not so much the digesting part, but still... close your mouth and don't be so frigging rude in front of Gran."

"Isn't this nice?" Gran said happily, butting through our bickering. "It's like we are as we have always been. A family sitting at a table together, eating breakfast and talking in a civilized manner."

"Yeah, that's right. You and me, Gran, eating breakfast. Just like how its always been." Jason sent me a teasing look. "Bar one."

"Hey, I am eating breakfast!" I pointed out, insulted.

"Liquid diet, more like..."

"When am I finally going to get my wish of having some grand-babies?" Gran cut through us, successfully changing topic. She looked between me and Jason sternly. "I'm not getting any younger, and before I die, I do want to get some grand-babies to start looking after eventually. Preferably with both of you being in a committed marriage while doing so."

I felt a twinge of sadness blow through me as I pressed my lips together to keep quiet. Gran obviously didn't realize that me and babies were not in the cards anymore. I could never give her grandchildren.

"Well?" she prodded, half-serious.

Jason rubbed the back of his neck with his hand awkwardly. "I just ain't found the right woman for me yet, Gran," Jason said quickly, making up an excuse. "But when I do, I'll let you know first thing... Besides, Sook's got more chance of settling down and giving you grandchildren than I do."

I gave Jason a pointed look. I hated him for doing that; For swinging the spotlight onto me. I never knew something could be so uncomfortable. "I don't think you'll be getting any grandchildren from me anytime soon, Gran," I told her; the only easiest thing I could think of telling her. I threw in a fake laugh. "I just don't think children will ever be in the cards for me."

"Nonsense. I know you'll find a man suitable for you, and you'll settle down and have kids. I know you'll be an excellent mother," she said, unintentionally rubbing salt into the wound. It wasn't her fault, though; She couldn't have known. It wasn't something done on purpose. "I know that, whenever I run into Arlene Fowler, she says how wonderful you are with her children."

"Gran, what I'm trying to say here, is that I'm a barren woman," I stated, unable to figure out how else to keep it from going on.

"I... I don't understand. You're a young-"

"-My God, Gran. I can't have babies. Not now, and not ever. It's just not in the cards for me anymore, so I'm sorry, but the only grandchildren you're likely to ever get... is from Jason himself. Okay? I mean, much as I enjoy children and the idea of them, I just... I can't."

I wasn't doing it to be mean. I just could not, for the life of me, figure out what other way to tell her, other than to be brutally honest with it all.

"I'm a vampire now, Gran," I went on, being careful to sound gentler so she wouldn't get too upset. "Vampires can't get pregnant, so the chances of you getting grandchildren out of me is... next to nil."

I tried with all my hardest not to dare let myself glance over at her face. I kept my eyes on my bottle of synthetic blood instead. A terrible silence fell on all of us, and it felt so awkward. So awkward and uncomfortable. I couldn't stand sitting there any longer.

"Now, if you'll both excuse me, I might go take a shower and get ready for work." I stood and poured the rest of the contents of my blood into the sink before rinsing the bottle out and chucking it out into the trash. Even as I exited the kitchen and trod upstairs to get my uniform prepared to take with me into the bathroom, I still could hear how horribly silent everything was downstairs.

It was funny how only when something was denied to you, you began to wish for it. I had never thought I would be the type of woman that had wanted to have children. Now that I couldn't and that possibility was denied to me, I discovered I felt otherwise.

Being a mother was supposed to be one of the most profound and exciting experiences in a woman's life. Only I couldn't have that. I didn't realize how much that upset me, until then.

* * *

When I finally got into work to start my shift, I was relieved to have something to do. My heart felt heavy and I felt in a bad mood, so it was lovely to have something there to keep me busy and to keep my mind off of everything that had went down this morning with Gran at home.

For the next few hours, I worked like a possessed demon.

While I had trouble keeping my guard intact, as per usual, it didn't seem to bother me. In fact, listening to people's thoughts just offered me another distraction and kept me out of dwelling on my own troubles for the time being. Even if those thoughts directed at me were rude, nothing seemed to bother me today.

I noticed Sam was watching me with more interest than he usually did, as if he was trying to figure out a difference in my complexion to the norm, while he worked up there at the bar, taking down orders for drinks and making cocktails.

Subconsciously, I had noted that his flannel shirt was undone more than usual, his collar wide open. I could see a fair amount of hair there on his tanned chest, and a throbbing point at the side of his neck just centimeters below his earlobe that seemed delightfully alive and pulsing. I wasn't exactly sure if that was a deliberate move on his part or not, but it seemed so to me. Perhaps he was hoping to tempt me, thinking I'd cave in enough to actually feed from him?

Or maybe he was even testing me, after what I had argued with him about last night? Maybe he was just testing me to see if whether or not my very first live blood drinking attempt had made me become uncontrollable and bloodthirsty?

He decided to let me know, when he called me into his office about half an hour later. It had gotten darker outside, and night had well and truly closed on in. I guess he grew tired of just watching me from afar. He was tense, almost stern, when he said, "Sookie, can I see you in my office for just a second?"

I followed him in, tensing up as he closed the door to his office for that extra bit of privacy, which made me realize this talk couldn't have really been for anything all that good.

For once, I concentrated on keeping my guard up, with wanting to hear what he was trying to tell me simply by his mouth instead, rather than his mind. I stood around, hands curled in front of me anxiously while he moved to sit in his recliner chair. Then, with a small smile that seemed pitifully forced, Sam jerked his chin towards the empty chair across from him, motioning for me to sit. Since I couldn't figure out what else to do, I took up his offer, sitting in the chair with my spine straight and body rigid, waiting for the blow to come.

Sam rubbed around his bristly chin with his fingers for awhile, apparently not knowing where to begin. Then he said with reluctance, "Guess I ought to start by telling you that I'm sorry for last night."

I certainly wasn't expecting that from him. My eyebrows rose skeptically. "Come on, Sam. Why don't you just tell me what this is really about? You've been watching me all day and acting weird."

"Well, all right," he chuckled nervously, after a moment. "You gone and did it last night then?"

I wasn't completely sure what he was asking that I had gone and done last night, but I thought I had a few ideas. "If you're asking me whether I fed from my first human last night, then... the answer is yes. Yes, I did." I fixed my eyes on him, not daring to look away, not even for a minute. If I looked away, it would only make me appear ashamed of what I did. And I wasn't. I had no true reason to be. "I fed from someone last night, and it... it went well. I never went overboard, if that's what you are worried about, Sam?"

"Now that's what I feared you would say, Cher." He sighed loudly, straightening up in his chair. I could see the disappointment there in his expression for me. He had no right to be, though, did he? Not really. He bit the inside of his cheek, before getting out angrily, "Just what the hell do you think you're doing?"

Still, I forced myself to keep my eyes on nothing else but his, blinking every now and then. "What do I think I'm doing? Well, really, I'm just doing what the hell I'm supposed to do. It's what I am now, Sam. Sooner or later, you and everybody else are gonna have to quit being in denial about that."

"It's that damn vampire that has gotten you into this," Sam snapped. "That damn Eric Northman. I knew there was nothing good to be coming out of him coming to the bar that night he did. He's leading you astray, making you do stuff you shouldn't be doing. How would Gran Adele feel about all of this? Did you even consider that?"

"Yes, I did, as a matter of fact," I got out straightforwardly. "And Gran knows, Sam. I told her. Not all of it, but pretty much all there was for her to have to know. She understands that I've got to start living the way I need to now. I wish you would learn that in time, too. What I do and who I do it with, is none of your business, Sam. Why can't you see that?"

He rubbed around his temples with his fingers, his jaw clenched. "Actually, Cher, it is my business. I'm your goddamn boss!"

"Yes, and I know that," I retorted, keeping my voice calm and under control with some effort. "You are my boss and, usually, you're a good one. Now, not so much. I have been working hard and you know I try my best, but what I do outside of work hours and in my own private life has absolutely nothing to do with you!"

"Fine! Go get yourself into some kind of trouble then!" He burst out, waving me from his office. "But don't expect me to be there for you when the shit hits the fan. All right?"

I stood hastily, darting towards the door. "I have never once expected you to always be there for me, Sam Merlotte," I said, and at that, I left his office, huffing in disbelief under my breath. I couldn't believe him. Some people were just so difficult to understand, no matter how many long years you had known the person for.

Since I hadn't had my break yet, I permitted myself it, giving myself some time to cool off.

I heated myself up a bottle of synthetic blood and took it outside with me with my bag, sitting down on the bench out back. I really wished I had someone to talk to in frustrating times like this. Well, there was someone I used to love talking to, only she had shut me out for reasons I still wasn't sure of. Tara. I found my cell in my bag and found her number, hesitating on letting myself ring her. I knew what most likely the reception from her would be, but still, I couldn't help it. I needed to talk to her, even just hear how she was. I pressed the dial button, held the phone to my ear, and waited.

"Yeah?" she greeted, once the call finally clicked through and she answered. Even just simply hearing her carefree voice made my heart swell; Hearing her oblivious, cheerful tone, because once she knew who was actually calling her, I knew that tone would change in a split-second.

"Yeah, hey," I said tentatively. "It's me. Sookie. I guess I'm just calling to see how you're doing with everything?"

There was a long moment of silence on the other end of the line. It almost hurt even worse than any hurtful words she could have hurled at me, that distance between us. Then she said, with a sigh, "God, Sook. What're you wanting from me?"

"Oh, no Tara. I'm not wanting anything from you, I swear. I just... I wanted to hear from you, is all, since we hardly ever talk or keep in contact anymore. It's been like... four years since we have last so much as even seen each other. How are you?"

We used to be inseparable, and there was a stage there where you couldn't keep Tara and me apart.

But after I had been made vampire, everything suddenly changed. Tara no longer wanted to stay in contact with me, and our long-time friendship was severed dramatically. I still felt the loss, even now. We went from being little girl's in kindergarten that would play together around Gran's house, to high school besties that would burn the whole world down for each other. We would even be defending each other's backs from bullies or the mean girls; That was how close-knit we were, as friends.

Now, it was as if we'd never even met, as if all those years of friendship together had never existed. I had no idea in the slightest of just what it was that I had done to her to cause her to be so distant and cold towards me. A part of me believed it wasn't anything I had done personally to cause our falling out. It was simply of what I had been turned into now, that had ruined our once-close friendship.

Tara had never been very supportive when vampires had come out of the coffin seven years ago. I guess she couldn't handle what her best friend had been turned into, which was probably main reason why we had lost contact in the past five years.

When she didn't answer, I repeated my question with a new sense of desperation, "How are you lately?"

"Um, look, Sook. Now isn't exactly a good time. I got shit I need to go do."

She might as well have pierced me in the heart. I knew she was only simply making up some lousy excuse in order to cut our phone-call short. "Oh, really? What's been happening with you?" I tried to sound normal, tried not to let my hurt show. "What's new?"

I turned to glance back through the window into the bar. Sam was back out, managing drinks. Even from where I sat, I could see that he was still fuming over our conversation. Well, tough.

"Um, I was wondering if maybe you'd want to catch up some time, if you're free? It's just we haven't seen each other in so long and... I... I really miss spending time with you, Tara."

"Yeah, well. I'm sorry, Sook, but I can't. I got a lot of meaningful shit going on right now, so it's just hard to find the time." Another excuse.

"Then why don't you drop into Merlotte's sometime?" I suggested, but gently. I didn't want her to feel as though I was pressuring her. "I know Lafayette would love to see you drop by, too? Why don't we make a time for-"

"-Goddamn it, Sookie, I wish you'd quit trying to call me all the damn time!" She cut through me, her voice unsteady. I wasn't the only one nearing crying point, after all. "Why can't you just get it through your thick skull already, Sook? This is the nice way of me saying that I don't want you calling me anymore! You know how you sound when you call me like this, every goddamn month? You sound fucking desperate, that's what..."

I closed my eyes tight, my hand that was gripping the phone shaking. I felt the tears rolling down my cheeks before I even fully realized I was crying.

"There's just got to be a point where you realize you've got to let it go, Sook!" Though try as she might, her nose sounded stuffed. She was bawling too, I could tell by her voice.

"Let it go, Tara? We were friends since we were in kindergarten! How can you possibly throw something like that away so easily, like it meant next to nothing to you?"

I could hear her breathing heavily through the phone. "I just wish you wouldn't try so hard to call me no more, Sookie. A whole lot of shit has happened, and a whole lot of things have changed. Shit that you can never go back from!"

I reopened my eyes, my vision red. "What the hell have I ever done to you, Tara?"

"You ain't done nothing, Sook, that's what I'm trying to say." She was yelling, her voice cracking on every word. "You might be able to look past what happened, but I can't. I'm fucking traumatized! Hell, I still even have nightmares over what happened to you!"

"Right. And you think it still isn't traumatizing on me, Tara?" Anger replaced my hurt, and my voice rose. "You think I don't go through every day wishing what happened to me never did?"

"Still, this is why we can never go back to how things were, Sook." She sniffled loudly. "I mean, I could hardly stand looking at you without seeing what happened to you right there before my eyes! It was all so fucking messed up, I couldn't take it! This is why we can't be friends anymore, and there has to be a point where you have to respect that, okay? I don't want to be your friend anymore, Sook. I don't want to catch up, I don't want to see you, and I don't want nothing to do with you anymore! Is that straightforward enough for you, or should I keep on going until it finally sinks the fuck in?"

"Screw you, Tara," I said, hurt. I didn't know what else to say or where to go after hearing her tell me something like that, so I simply solved that problem by stabbing down on the button on my cell, officially ending our phone-call.

So much for feeling better by hearing her voice...

Maybe I was some kind of masochist that got off on being hurt from other people? I wasn't sure. No, I couldn't have been. I didn't like feeling this way. Not for a second. First it was Gran this morning, upsetting her by admitting to her the hard truth that I could never give her grand-babies. Then it was disappointing Sam over admitting I'd fed from my first human last night, and now... this with Tara, too. I was not a glutton for punishment. I thought maybe I just felt too much, too intensely, at times.

Setting my jaw, I shook my head, watching drops of blood fall down onto the wooden bench top. Sucking in a deep breath, I patted around my eyes, hoping to get rid of the evidence from my little crying session. Then forcing all that had happened into a little box and shoving it at the back of my mind, I focused on swallowing down the rest of my synthetic blood; It being so bland I very nearly gagged a couple of times, regurgitating it all back up again.

Then I felt his power and presence approaching me, and I swung my legs around so that my back was to him. I had no particular desire for my Sheriff to have to witness that I had been sobbing and having a weak moment, all to myself.

"Any progress on finding out who my maker is?" I asked, my back still to him; hardly caring how desperate I sounded. At least I didn't sound as though I had been crying. That was something...

"Actually, yes. There is, in fact, a vampire residing in Bon Temps. He was still living at the residence his old family owned at the time five years ago when you were made. He never reported to me about making a newbie vampire. So, if it _is_ him, you likely won't be knowing your maker for very long. Creating a newborn vampire and abandoning them before teaching them the proper way to transition into their new life is considered an offense in my district."

It took me a long minute to get over the shock. Eric had worked fast. I hadn't expected such speedy results.

"His name is Bill Compton. He lives across the cemetery from where you live." I didn't have to glance at Eric's face to know he evidently didn't go much on this Vampire Bill. It was all there in his tone of voice.

"Bill Compton," I repeated quietly. The name held no familiarity to me whatsoever. I had no sudden epiphany from merely speaking his name aloud. I stopped breathing. Which, for me now, was a very easy thing to do. "You think its possible that he might be the one that made me like this?" It was the perfect distraction I found I needed. Instead of feeling heavyhearted, I now was filled with anticipation.

When I dared to peek a look up at Eric's face from where he was standing behind me over my shoulder quickly, it wasn't very encouraging. "For your sake, I hope not," he muttered, showing his distaste.

"You don't go much on this Bill Compton, do you?" His reaction had me very curious. "Why not? What's so bad about him?"

"Oh, you'll see exactly what I mean once you meet him," he said, with a wry sort-of smile, a faint upturn of his lips.

I smiled back at him despite it all, unable to help it. "And maybe I will."

He made a low noise in his throat of amusement, his eyes roaming over my face. His expression softened dramatically at something he saw on me, though I wasn't sure why. He strode closer with quick, large steps to stand directly behind me and within touching distance. Before I could even comprehend it or properly see it coming, he touched my shoulder, rubbing softly with his hand. I looked at that hand, remembering I'd touched myself last night while imagining him touching me with them. I almost felt tempted to grab that hand and guide it towards some other place instead, like underneath my shorts for instance.

But he probably had some faint idea what I had been doing, no doubt, in crying. He was a vampire himself, after all. Surely he knew what a crying vampire looked like. I was willing to bet I looked quite the ugly sight.

"Are you all right?" he asked me seriously, his voice somewhat soft with concern.

It was the very last thing I had expected him to ask of me; Whether I was all right. It very nearly sent me over the edge again, so much so that I had to quickly turn my head away from him, showing him the back of my shirt. As I moved to keep my face hidden, his hand left my shoulder, and I felt that loss of comforting contact something shocking.

"I'm great," I said, pretty unconvincingly. "I've never been better. Why wouldn't I be all right?" I wiped my nose on the back of my hand when it belatedly occurred to me that it was running. Blood snot. Definitely not a pretty sight, indeed. "I finish in another half an hour. Meet me outside once I'm done, and then we can go pay this Bill Compton a visit."

There, I could play it cool, if I wanted to. I could play it cool.

**Hope this one was okay? Thank you so much.**

**Is Bill Compton her maker? Well, you'll just have to find out next chapter. I'll just say it won't be that simple. :) As for Sam, she'll move on from Merlotte's to a more suitable job where vampires are almost revered, which will be at Fangtasia. What her job will entail, you'll just have to wait and see. Godric will feature very shortly while they infiltrate the Fellowship, too. :)**


	14. Chapter 14

**First, I own nothing to do with TB or any of the characters. I'm just doing this for fun, as a fan.**

**Thank you all so much. I do hope you enjoy this one and that it isn't a disappointment. :)**

* * *

_**Chapter 14**_

Once my shift finally finished for the night, I knocked at Sam's office door, explaining to him that now that my shift was officially over, I was done and leaving for the night. He was sitting quiet in his chair by his desk, clearly still stewing over our conversation, though I wasn't sure why he had any real reason to be angry with me.

"Have I done something wrong?" I asked anxiously through the door, even though I knew fair well that I hadn't. "What's with your behavior today? You _know_ what I am now, so surely... you can't expect everything to stay the same, can you?"

"Of course not, and I know that. Sometimes it just gets..." He trailed off, apparently not knowing what quite to say. I waited, pressing my shoulder against the doorway. "I've just... I've known you since you were that nineteen year old girl that came on in here looking for a job all those years back. Sometimes it just... it gets hard remembering that you're not that girl anymore."

"I'm still her, Sam. Well, mainly_ inside_ I am her. But that girl was, like, from eleven years ago and a lot has changed since then. You can't expect someone not to change within that length of time, can you?"

"Yeah, and I know that, Cher." He sighed heavily. "Guess what I'm truly trying to say here is that I've known you for a real long time. Eleven years, like you say. I care about you, like a lot of others do despite... what your condition is now." By condition, I was assuming he meant my vampire condition. "I just don't want to see you getting hurt or getting into trouble."

"Well, you don't need to worry," I told him seriously. "I'm a big girl. I think I can pretty much take care of myself."

"You just..." Sam shifted in the chair impatiently, folding his hands out in front of him. I'd never seen him get so speechless before. "You remember how you disappeared virtually off the face of the planet for a week or two, before your Grandmother told me what had happened to you? Do you remember that?"

I shrugged, smiling somewhat guiltily. "Not... really," I admitted uneasily. "I don't remember much at all of that time, to be honest."

Really, I couldn't remember a whole lot, just like I couldn't remember what happened the night I was made vampire. Certain details were very foggy.

"Well, anyway. All of us were worried sick. Not just me, but Lafayette and Arlene. All of us. We care about you a whole bunch."

"I know that," I said lamely, not really comprehending what point he was trying to make. "And I care about you-all as well. Tara clearly doesn't care about me anymore, though. I tried to call her during my break to see if she wanted to catch up sometime."

"Oh, yeah? And how was the reception with that?"

"Bad," I said cleanly. "She doesn't want anything to do with me anymore, Sam. I'm not even sure why or... what it was that I've done to her to make her not want to have any business with me anymore. Has she told you anything?"

Sam thought that over for a moment. "Nope. I've heard nothing from her, Cher. Not since that time she came in to see her cousin. I saw how distant she was being with you, though. I don't think that's fair."

"Yeah, and neither do I." I shook my head sadly. "I just don't get how you could do that to somebody who is supposedly meant to be your best friend. We've been friends since kindergarten and... at the time that I needed her the most, she up and left."

"Well, you know how Tara is. You know she don't go much on vampires. It's probably her way of coping, damn strange as it is."

"Still, to treat your friend that way all due to something she had no say in? I'd never do that to her, not in a million years." I sighed helplessly. I could have talked about Tara all night, but really, there was more important things. "So... Gran called you about a week afterwards?"

"Yeah, she did, Sookie. Said you came home a vampire, and that was why you hadn't showed to work the way you had."

I tried to think back hard on that, but there was a huge white blank spot there. I remembered waking up covered in dirt, hysterical. Aside from that, not much else. Well, I did remember stumbling home to Gran. I remembered the dirt and clumps of soil sticking to my clothes, to my bare feet and legs. I had walked and walked a long way home, and I remembered marveling at the time at how the gravel road didn't seem to hurt the balls of my feet any. Marveling at how, despite what little clothes I had on me, I felt neither hot nor cold.

"I remember Gran crying when she opened the door to find me there... and telling me that she had contacted the police about me going missing the previous night before. But that's about it, though?"

"She said you were being kept inside, that Jason and her wouldn't let you out of their sights. They believed it was probably best that you were... that you were kept in confinement just in case you did something." Sam made it almost sound as if I had been acting like a wild animal that needed to be caged in. "Apparently Jason had to strap you up real tight with that chain in his truck to each side of the bed before you could even think of biting anybody."

Ice-cold fear tore through me at that comment, at how uncontrollable I must have been. I felt like the girl in the Exorcist; I probably acted as though I had been possessed by an evil spirit or demon, considering the way Sam was putting it for me.

All of this was really news to me. Neither Gran nor Jason had really spoken about that night to me; And, even if I did try to pry into their thoughts, they deliberately kept from reminiscing back on that night.

It was scary that even I myself couldn't remember much about what had happened to me, before or after I was turned. But hearing what Sam was telling me now, about how Jason had to strap me up with the thick chain that was on the bed of his pick-up, it was horrifying to think that both him and Gran would have had to deal with me while I was being like that.

"I... I don't remember that," I whispered to Sam shakily. "Gran and Jason haven't ever told me about it and... even when I do try to so much as get it from their minds, they deliberately block it out. I figured it was bad by them doing that, purposefully not thinking about it in front of me of what had happened that night after I returned home, but still I... I never realized it was that bad?"

"Well, they probably felt it was best if you didn't know," Sam said gently. "They were protecting you from a hard truth, in their own way. They probably didn't want it scaring you, is all."

"They didn't want to _scare me_?" I laughed out loud in bewilderment. "And what about _scaring them_? What about poor Gran? Gosh, I probably scared _her_ half to death!"

He smiled at me slightly. "Well, that's really not your fault either way, is it? After all, you couldn't have helped what happened to you, could you?"

"Yeah, but... that's half the problem. I can't seem to even remember the half of what happened to me that night." While it was sort of nice, having Sam to talk to now that we had seemed to resolve whatever problem he felt he had with me, I felt all shivery with terror. "Gosh, poor Gran and Jason, though. I had no idea just how bad it was for them."

"Like I said, it's not your fault. Sometimes... bad things just happen. Things we can't control. I'm sure your Gran and brother know that you couldn't be held accountable at the time, that it was just... out of your control." I got the sense that he was becoming just as uncomfortable on the subject as I was, because I noticed Sam bought his eyes away with some effort to start shuffling through the papers littering his desk. "So, what are you up to tonight? What's the plan?"

I deliberated on whether I ought to just keep what I was doing to myself. It was none of Sam's business. But then I decided it wouldn't have hurt. "Actually, Eric is helping me look for my maker."

Sam's reaction to that was unexpected, to say the least. His head whipped back so that he could look at me. "You're wanting to find who your maker is?" he asked me slowly, his eyes squinted in confusion.

"Yep. And by maker, I mean the vampire-"

"-That made you into one, right," he cut me off straightforwardly, returning back to his paper work. Apparently Sam was already clued-in on vampire linguistics. "Got it."

I felt a strange pressure in my lower ribs. "How'd you know that's what it meant?" I asked, unable to hide my surprise.

"I'll just say I know a lot more than you think."

"Oh, clearly."

"And how's that going for you both?" he asked with interest after a moment. "Any luck with that as yet?"

"Actually, we've got something good to go off of tonight," I said simply. "In fact, that's... where I'm heading right now. I better get going." I went to duck back out of his office, but his voice stopped me in my tracks.

"You like that vampire?"

I didn't even have to bother asking just who he meant. "I do," I admitted, dead serious. "You can't even begin to imagine just how... liberating it is, to be spending time with someone more like the new me now."

When I looked at his face carefully, he looked nothing but surprisingly understanding. "Well, I'm real glad for you. But you just, you know, take care, won't you? You just... you look after yourself."

I stared at him blankly. _Was he hinting that-_

"Wait. Are you firing me _finally_?"

"Well, do you want to keep on working here?" he asked, sounding just as confused.

"Um... sometimes? Not when you're being meddling though, like you have been lately."

"Then you'll still have a job here, for however long you feel like it," he assured me. "And, as for all that other stuff... I'll try quit being so meddling. I'm just your friend, and I don't want you getting into trouble or hurt, is all. God knows you've been through enough as it is."

I smiled at him. "Night, Sam."

Much to my pleasure, my Sheriff was waiting for me outside the instance I got out.

Though it was dark outside, I still could see him clear as day. I guess that was one of the good things of being what I was now; A flashlight was not necessary, not when you had supernatural eyesight abilities. I found I could hardly look him in the eye as we walked towards my car while I shoved my bag on over my shoulder. It dawned onto me that I felt rather... shy. But hey, when it came to him, what was new?

"You, sir, have my permission to drive my car," I said foolishly while handing him my keys. "I think its safe to say that I trust you with driving my car now. And, let me tell you, I don't let many people drive it unless I have complete and utter trust in them, so you ought to consider yourself lucky..."

I compressed my lips together in a tight line to shut myself up when he gave me a quizzical look with his left eyebrow raised. Boy, did I feel like such an idiot around him sometimes.

I was still in a funny mood over how the evening had gone, so I only just remembered when I sat myself in the passenger's side while he started my car up that I had meant to change out of my uniform before meeting him outside. _Dumbass_. My conversation with Sam had just wiped my mind and all sense off completely. I rummaged around in my bag, feeling out the clothes I had bought with me to change.

"Sorry, I'm just gonna get changed out of my work clothes in case," I explained, before diving through the gap in our seats to sit in the back. "I completely forgot. Silly me." I laughed at my own silliness, which he didn't return with a laugh of his own. He definitely wasn't the laughing type evidently. "Remember how I said that you can feel free to tell me to shut my trap whenever you feel like it?" I reminded him meaningfully while peeling off my cardigan. "Well, that starts now. Just tell me if I'm getting too annoying."

_Heaven knows I was starting to annoy myself with all my nervous rambling in front of him.._.

It was funny; I never seemed to have this problem with other people, but him. He just made me real nervous, and a nervous me equaled an excessively chatty me. But if he was annoyed in any way, he certainly didn't say anything about it. His silence told me that he wasn't going to take up my offer of telling me to shut up, which had to have meant he wasn't all that bothered that I rambled something shocking in his company, right?

"Anyway, um..." I racked my brains for something else to say to fill the silence with. "If this Bill Compton does turn out to be my maker, will there be a way of me knowing for sure?" There, we go. Finally my mouth was cooperating with me.

"Oh, you'll definitely know if Bill is your maker."

"How so?" I asked, uncertain.

"It's hard to describe, but... you'll definitely know. You said you remember nothing else of that night aside from waking up buried in the soil." He met my gaze through the mirror. "I'm assuming that would only mean that you were unconscious all throughout it all, which can only mean that, whoever made you like this, they hadn't released you and relinquished their control."

I made a face in confusion. He could have been speaking in another tongue. "Released me? What's that supposed to mean?"

I heard him give out a long sigh through his nostrils, then he took the wrong moment to turn back in the seat to look at me.

I had taken off my Merlotte's shirt, and was just getting ready to pull one of my normal ones on just in case something happened and things got messy. I was being practical tonight and ready to take precautions. I had to fight the urge to cover myself up, because I was only wearing a red-lace bra. My tummy was toned enough, and being a vampire had made my skin rock hard and firm, but still... There was still a decent bit of insecurity there.

But a sense of undeniable relief filled me when I caught how his eyes slivered down the front of me, checking me out, before he cleared his throat unnecessarily and tore his eyes away again quickly. While I mightn't have known much about sex and men, I thought he looked rather... appreciative and affected over the sight. What a relief. Maybe there was some hope for me left, after all?

"Yes, released you. When a maker decides he has no longer any use for his progeny, he... he renounces all ties and dominion over them by releasing them."

His voice sounded different; More strained and deeper somehow, and though I wasn't looking at him, I saw his head turn back into my direction while I slithered out of my shorts. _Heck, not that I minded him having a perve..._

"It is something told formally from maker to progeny, but... far as I'm aware of, it can only work when the made vampire is conscious." He paused for a moment and when I turned to glance his way, I discovered his eyes were on my bare legs while I started yanking my jeans on. He only looked away again when he saw that I saw him watching me, and I had to stifle a smile when he cleared his throat again hoarsely, like something was caught in it. "And considering how you told me that you don't recall much from the night you were made, that you woke up a newborn vampire alone without any recollections of your maker... I'd say that your maker still is bound to you."

My nightmare came back to me, in full force. "Could my maker ever command me to murder a room full of people?" I certainly hoped not.

"They definitely could. They could compel you to do their bidding, no matter how... unwilling you are to do it yourself. Your maker has total dominion over you, which means that anything he or she says, will go."

This was really not what I wanted to hear, though I appreciated his honesty.

"Well, that's what mainly scares me," I admitted, while shoving my uniform into my bag hastily. "That whoever made me this way, they'll get me to do something terrible. That's what scares me the most, yet... at the same time, it feels like a risk worth taking just for the sake of learning who did this to me in the first place. Does that make any sense or am I talking nonsense to you?"

"Oh, no. I think I understand how you feel completely. If I was in your position, I know I would want to find who my maker was also."

Finished changing, I stood and climbed through the gap in the seats to get back into the passengers seat. Maneuvering into it without accidentally hitting him wasn't easy, but somehow, I managed. Then we started making the journey towards where this Bill Compton lived, and I felt myself tense up in anticipation at the idea of finally potentially meeting the vampire that had created me.

"So, whoever did this to me... how does it work exactly?" I asked, though a part of me didn't want to know. "Did whoever it was just bite me until the venom went into my system, then they buried me in the ground for me to wake up a vampire the next night?"

When I glanced Eric's way, he looked amused. "No, not even close to that. There's no venom in our fangs or bite, Sookie."

"So how, then?" I wasn't even so sure I wanted to know, not really. A part of me was petrified to learn what had happened to me the night I was made, yet another part of me felt the urgent need to come to some kind of understanding. "What did they do to me?"

He met my eyes grimly. "And you are absolutely sure that you truly want to know all the gory details?"

I held his gaze steadily for all I was worth. "I'm more sure than anything else in the entire world," I said, not being entirely sincere. "I need to know. And besides, I'm sure I can handle it."

Something in my expression must have convinced him good enough, because he nodded once before looking back to the road. "Fair enough then. Since you say you do not have any recollection of your maker whatsoever and that you never saw the vampire that attacked you that night, I would say that he snuck up behind you when you weren't looking. He wanted you to be not only off-guard and unsuspecting, but above all that, he didn't want you seeing his face."

I nodded in agreement. I had already kind of figured as much. "So they got me from behind. What happened next?"

"Well, in order to create a new vampire, they would have had to drain you to the point of death. If you didn't see them that night, then its likely that they took you from behind. They came behind you and drained you of all your blood. Probably right here, in fact."

My stomach clenched when suddenly he reached out to move a few loose strands of my hair away with his fingers, only to touch a spot on the side of my neck with the back of his knuckles.

"Then what?" I urged, rather breathlessly.

Eric smiled faintly at me at my tone, though it was hardly a cheerful one. "Then once you were near dying, they would have replaced your blood with theirs. It would have been easier to get you to swallow and ingest it down if you were teetering close to the brink of unconsciousness."

"So they drained me of all my blood completely, then forced me to drink theirs. Then what?"

"Then the vampire and human sleep in the ground, until the turning process is complete and both maker and human rises. The human becomes a newborn baby vampire the next evening." I could see the tips of his fangs glistening. As for mine, they weren't in the mood to join the fang party just yet.

"So that was why I woke up buried in the ground the way I did," I whispered, it all suddenly sinking into place. "Only I was alone under the earth, all by myself. Yet here I am, still a vampire. Is it a requirement for a maker to sleep in the ground with their... their baby?"

"It is, though... clearly yours dug themselves out the instance dusk came before you rose. You still would have successfully made the transition into a vampire regardless of them leaving you early."

Whether he knew it or not, the back of his hand was still pressed up flat against the side of my throat, a bit like how someone would do it to check for a live pulse. Clearly, I didn't have a pulse any longer, if that was even what he was searching around for. I didn't know whether he was too preoccupied with telling me what happened that he forgot to move his hand away, but... Hell, I was enjoying it either way.

"So you really haven't killed any humans as yet? Not even while in your first years of being a vampire?" I found myself thankful for the subject change, no matter how... random it was.

"Nope, I was telling you the truth with that," I muttered, then shivered in what I assumed was pleasure. His hand had moved up, until he caught my earlobe between his index finger and middle finger.

"You must have very admirable self control then. Usually a newbie vampire can hardly resist blood from humans at all. Usually, with age, it develops, both the impulse control and resistance. At the age you are now, you should still be controlled by your impulses and utterly reckless."

"But I do have impulse control issues," I pointed out. "Don't you remember those times I licked you? Those were definitely my impulses ruling over, rather than my head."

"There is a reasonable explanation for that; I had blood on me, something that proved evidently too difficult for you to resist."

"Oh, no," I laughed. "I don't think it had anything to do with the blood at all, not really. Your just... naturally lickable to me. Half the time, every time I see you, I feel like I could just lick you all day long." There, that did it. My fangs shot down and I had to look away quickly. _Yep, I definitely said way too much than I ought to have while being around him. _"S-shut up," I told myself angrily, despite being fully aware he could hear me. Great, now I was stuttering again, too. "My goodness, I am s-so sorry," I said to him vehemently. "I can't even talk without stuttering now. I s-swear, my fangs s-s-sometimes."

"Don't apologize," he said, stunning me. "When I was your age, I had trouble pronouncing certain words also. It happens when you aren't accustomed to speaking with fangs."

I couldn't tell whether he was being serious, or whether he was simply being condescending and making fun of me. But when he took a right turn up a winding dirt driveway, I soon grew distracted from my wondering. A house came into view; One about the same age as my Grandmother's, a weatherboard with peeling white paint. The lights were on through every room of the house; I could tell that much, from what I could see through the curtained windows. Music was playing; Country music drifting around from inside. I could hear it all the way from where I sat, in the car.

"Well, shall we?" Eric's voice broke me out of my thoughts.

"Sure. Let's go find out if this Bill Compton's my maker."

We both unbuckled our seat belts briskly and just as I hopped out of the car and turned back to close it, I thought I heard Eric mutter, "And thank you. I find you to be extremely lickable yourself."

When I turned back to glance at him questioningly, I figured I must have only been imagining it, which was unfair. He didn't look as though he had said anything just then. Maybe I had been looking at him a little too expectantly, because he lifted his eyebrows at me. I didn't want to feel anymore stupid than I already somehow did, so I went first, walking briskly up the steps to the front door.

Lifting my knuckles to the door, I knocked. One knock seemed all it took for this Bill Compton to switch the country music down. I stood back, letting Eric stand in front of me while I took in a deep breath. I felt so ill with nerves all of a sudden, and when footsteps clomped down a staircase that anxiety increased the closer he got to answering the door.

Then the door swung open suddenly and, there he was. Bill Compton. He stepped back from the door seemingly in surprise at Eric's unexpected appearance on his doorstep. Looking him over while I had the chance, I had to admit that this Vampire Bill was in no way what I was expecting.

For one thing, he had clearly just only gotten out of the shower. He was simply wrapped up in a blue and red striped bathrobe, his feet covered in fluffy slippers. He was by no means as impressive as Eric was, as far as vampire men went; He was far shorter, his hair dark and still damp from the shower, his fringe so long that it very nearly stabbed him in the eyes every time he blinked. And he sure was blinking a whole lot due to Eric appearing at his doorstep.

"Bill," Eric greeted, and like before, I could see Eric was not particularly fond of him.

"Eric." Bill nodded once, his lips pursed. Nervously, his hands came down to tighten his robe over himself. "Had I known you would be intending to visit, I would have bothered getting dressed."

"Oh, please Bill. There is bigger fish to fry than how atrocious you look in your bathrobe."

"What, then? What is the meaning of your visit right now?" I could tell this Bill was not at all pleased at the intrusion. His voice was sharp and low.

"Here's the meaning." As if remembering I was standing there, Eric's hand found my back, guiding me forward. "Bill, I would like for you to meet someone. This is Sookie." Since we were practically face-to-face, I looked this man over closely.

Nothing about him seemed familiar to me, unfortunately. Watching his face closely for any sign of recognition on it, from what I could tell, there wasn't anything. Whoever this Bill Compton truly was, he didn't know me. Or, if he did, he kept his expression convincingly neutral.

"Who is this girl? And why are you showing her to me?"

"Do you know her?" Eric asked, somewhat menacingly, and when I tore my eyes up to look at his face, I saw he was scrutinizing Bill very carefully as well.

"No, I do not. Why? Should I?"

"Well, we find ourselves in a bizarre situation here, Bill. One where Sookie was made a vampire five years ago where her maker abandoned her the night she rose. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?"

This Bill raked his eyes all over me again. "Just what are you daring to accuse me of here exactly?"

"Well, it's all so very convenient, isn't it?" Eric said knowingly. "Sookie gets turned five years ago in the Bon Temps area, where you are known to reside and live."

"I did not make her, I swear to you." Bill's voice was shaky with conviction. "The very reason being that for over a century and a half, I still firmly believe that it would be sheer cruelty to condemn a human to this existence. I could never inflict such suffering on a human, hence why I have not made one as yet, nor will I ever. I would rather meet my true death than to subject a human to the miseries of this life."

One thing I was dead certain of then. This Vampire man was not my maker. But then if Bill Compton, one of the only vampires known to reside in my hometown wasn't my maker, who made me this way then?


	15. Chapter 15

**First, I own nothing to do with TB or any of the characters. I'm just doing this for fun, as a fan.**

**Thank you all so much. I do hope you enjoy this one and that it isn't a disappointment. :)**

**To be warned, things get crazy at the end. Haha. **

* * *

_**Chapter 15**_

This Bill Compton was not my maker.

I wasn't entirely sure how I knew so completely, but I did. Eric had said that when I met the vampire that had made me, I'd know instantly. I felt nothing coming from this vampire, however; No magical connection, no recognition, nothing. And, considering the way he was staring between Eric and I blankly with his grey eyes, he knew nothing of me either.

"I do not know this girl," Bill repeated, his voice just as strong with conviction as before. "I swear to you on this. I have not seen her nor do I know of her."

"Then do you know of anyone who made a baby vampire without reporting it to me within the last five years?" Eric asked, quite calmly. But when I looked up at his face again, Eric looked anything but calm. His hand was still resting on the middle of my back, large fingers splayed. Through the material of my shirt, I could feel him stroking me. "Have you heard anything?"

"No, I have not. I do not mingle much with other vampires any longer, nor do I get out much, unless I have to go to the grocery store of an evening to restock on my bottles of synthetic blood. I have wholly dedicated myself to mainstreaming."

_Mainstreaming._ There was that word.

"Then have you heard anything from the vampires of the nest that live nearby?"

"No, I have not. I have not had any contact with Malcolm or Diane in over three months now." His eyes flickering between us again, Bill stood back reluctantly. "Would the both of you like to come inside? I have plenty bottles of blood available. I just hope you'll be mindful of the strict recycling regiment I have currently."

I was just about to take up this vampires kind offer, when Eric took me firmly by the upper arm, pulling me back. "No, that won't be necessary, Bill. We aren't here for a social call. So you have heard nothing at all about any of this? About Malcolm or Diane making a vampire in the previous five years?"

"I have not. Diane and I, well..." Bill trailed off uncomfortably, clearing his throat. "We have laid together on several occasions. Not during one of them has she ever admitted to me about making a new vampire. Has her maker made any attempt to call her?" Bill's eyes ran down my clothes questioningly.

"No, they haven't called me. I don't even think they had the time to get my number off me, seeing as I was unconscious, like you said I had to have been?" I stared up at Eric nervously. "At least, I don't think they've got my number. Is that what happens? A maker will take down his newborn's phone number to call her for future reference?"

It seemed a valid enough question to me. Eric, on the other hand, didn't seem to think so.

He closed his eyes for a moment, his expression like an exasperated sigh. Then when he slowly reopened his eyes, he ignored my question to address this other male vampire again. "Now, surely you can see what the issue is here, Bill? Sookie has no concept of what being a vampire is. She has no experience whatsoever, and... all things considered, that makes for one extremely dangerous baby."

_Extremely dangerous baby?_ I opened my mouth to protest, but the stern look he gave me made me shut up for once.

"Imagine if there were many others that are in the same position as Sookie is here. While Sookie possesses almost enviable self-control and has strong grasp on her impulses, other newborn babies in her position probably wouldn't be the same. I know you, of all people, Bill, would be aware of the strong risk that imposes. So if you do happen to know anything- no matter how unimportant you feel it may be - I suggest you reveal it to me now."

Vampire Bill looked indecisive for all of a second, his mouth flopping open then closed like a fish. Then he shrugged, relenting. "I may have heard Malcolm speak something of this, though... I cannot be entirely sure."

I didn't know what that meant for me, but Eric seemed almost pleased by the news. "Excellent. We'll be off now, Bill; That is really all for the time being."

"Are you sure that I couldn't invite you both in for a quick refreshment?" Bill suggested cordially. Seeing as the vampire seemed so desperate for us to join him for a drink, I wouldn't have minded. I hadn't had a bottle of blood since a couple of hours ago. Only I could tell Eric wanted to do anything else but spend time with this vampire in his house.

"No, we're done here. Goodnight, Bill."

As if he didn't trust me not to follow him, Eric took my hand by intertwining his fingers through mine, and seeing as he was that much more powerful than me, I could do little else but allow him to tug me along back to where my car was parked. I was too stunned by our talk with the other vampire to even take the time to both fully register it and appreciate the fact that we were holding hands.

"He's not my maker," I said quietly, though something told me Eric already knew that.

"He's not."

"If not him, then who then?" I asked out loud in sheer frustration. "There's bound to be a lot of vampires out there. What if it takes us years to find him? Three years, even?"

"We'll find your maker eventually, Sookie," Eric assured me vehemently while pulling my door open for me. "You will just have to exercise some patience until then."

_Exercise patience? If only it was that easy..._

I felt the loss of his hand holding mine as I slipped into the seat while he closed the door for me. I would have loved nothing more than to take hold of his hand again, but he had to drive and he probably needed both of them in order to use the steering wheel. Instead of following through with the temptation, I slipped my hands under my legs instead. At least he wouldn't think I was a total fool that way.

When I glanced back up at Bill's house while Eric started my car, I saw the vampire was resting by the door frame, watching us leave. Maybe he was just a sad and miserable vampire that craved contact with someone seeing as he secluded himself from the world now? Hell, if I know. When I looked at Eric to see if he felt as bad as I did for the vampire Bill, I saw he looked impassive. Like he couldn't care less. Clearly the two weren't very big fans of one another.

"What's going on between you and that Bill vampire?" I asked curiously.

He sent a swift look my way. "What do you mean?"

"I don't know, but... there was some tension there? It's obvious you two don't go too much on each other. What happened?"

"I just had an altercation with Bill and his maker one time, when he was a baby vamp. Something just happened with Pam before she was my progeny." It was obvious to me that he didn't feel all that keen on discussing it with me, so I didn't bother pressing him further. Instead, I tried to focus on our next goal.

"So... what's our next step? As far as finding my maker goes, I mean? I think you said that this Bill Compton was one of the only vampires left residing in Bon Temps?"

"Oh, we still have some hope left. There is a nest living near here also."

"Nest?" Despite myself, I cracked up laughing. When he shot a look my way that showed me he clearly did not find humor in the same thing that I did, it shut me up pretty quickly. I compressed my lips together, though I thought I saw a bit of mirth there shining away in his eyes. Hmm, so my Sheriff did have a sense of humor after all. He just kept it better contained than I did. "What's this about birds nests? Why is there even such a thing as birds nests with vampires?"

Although I couldn't read Eric's mind, I sure could read what his expression was telling me. As he pulled out of Bill's driveway, he gave me another look over his shoulder that said, _Are you kidding me?_

"When I say nest, I don't mean a birds nest. It really isn't that way at all, definitely not in the way you seem to be thinking." While he tried to sound patient with me, I could tell he truly was getting a bit crabby that I lacked so much understanding of vampire terms. "A nest is a group of vampires that live together. It doesn't have anything to do with birds."

"Oh." I felt my face deflate in confusion. How embarrassing. Where did I get birds from then? "So its vampires living together?"

"Yes, multiple vampires that live in the same dwelling together," he explained, seemingly pleased I was a fast learner. "It has absolutely nothing to do with birds."

"Right. And so there is a nest of vampires living in a house together in the Bon Temps area?"

"Yes, there is. We'll have to look into it another night."

"Why not tonight?" I inquired, disappointed. "The nights still young, isn't it? I don't have to work until eight thirty tomorrow morning, so... I can stay up later than usual." Honestly, I just wanted to get the entire thing over and done with. I was impatient. I wanted to find my maker, and I wanted to find them right now. I needed answers and closure.

"I know that you are probably feeling impatient to find out who did this to you- and why. But I have things I need to do tonight, things I can't put off." When he put it that way, I suddenly felt guilty. How rude of me; Thinking all about myself and not the idea that he had his own life and business to run as well. His world didn't revolve around me and him helping me with finding out who made me into a vamp and then abandoned me. He had his own personal business to do, too. "But I promise you, we will eventually find your maker. Even if it takes a whole year, we won't stop until we find them." The determination in his voice made a shiver pass through me.

I still wasn't entirely sure why he was bothering to actually do all of this for me. Nevertheless, I was so glad he was.

"You said that you are still able to work during the day?"

I wasn't sure why he was asking, but he sounded both curious and rather impressed. "Yep, I can. And, as you no doubt already know seeing as I told you, I can... daywalk, as you called it. Be out during the day. It's how I can mainly go on as though my life is how it has always been. The sunlight don't seem to bother me, so I can work my day shifts. I can't go a full night without sleep, though. I sleep pretty much how I used to."

"You don't get the bleeds if you stay up?"

"The bleeds?" I repeated quietly, at a loss. "What's that?" It was another thing I hadn't ever heard of before.

"Well, if I don't rest during daylight hours, I get the bleeds. From my nose, my ears. You don't get that?"

"No, I'm pretty sure I've never gotten that," I admitted, making a face in disgust. "Sounds gross, though. I do bleed from my eyes, but... that only happens when I cry? Do you cry blood too?" I had no idea if that was a universal vampire thing or just a me thing, the bloody tears.

"Yes, I cry blood too," Eric said, though when I glanced his way, he didn't look too proud to have to admit it. He shrugged in an over-exaggerated, careless way. "Not that I've cried recently, of course. This was an... extremely long time ago, when that last happened." I could tell he was just saying that to make himself feel better; Like he didn't want to appear too vulnerable to me. Jason could be exactly the same; He'd deny crying to me, even when he had wet eyes and a red face. I suppose all men were like that then, vampire or no vampire. They didn't much like admitting to a woman that even they cried sometimes. "But yes, Sookie. Blood is secreted instead of normal tears for vampires."

"Thank god then," I said in relief. "First time it happened, I thought there must have been something seriously wrong with me. I'm glad to know it isn't just me then."

I sighed loudly, resting my head back into the seat. It dawned onto me how comfortable I felt around him. Well, comfortable and nervous. I'd never really been like this with a guy before; I'd never felt comfortable enough to trust them, or to open myself up, unless they were my brother. But with Eric, things were scarily different. And it was so good; So exhilarating to have somebody to talk to, even if I did ask him reasonably silly questions. He didn't seem to mind answering them and keeping me informed. It was the nicest feeling in the world to have somebody somewhat like you to talk to. I couldn't help wondering if things would have been different if my maker had bothered to stick around.

"I'm so hopeless at this, aren't I?" I said thoughtlessly. I was having another one of my moments, another one of my... _What did he call it? Pity-party?_ I was throwing myself another pity-party. "Just... all these things that I don't know, all these rather... foolish things that I've got to ask you about my new life. This is probably so annoying to you."

When Eric looked at me, it was in a very peculiar way. He seemed almost... sorry for me. Empathetic. "Nonsense. I don't find your questions annoying at all. If anything, I understand why you would have so many questions the way you do."

A snort of laughter escaped me. "Do you really understand?" I asked doubtfully.

"I think I do. It's only natural that you would have so many questions being a newbie vampire. You had no maker there to teach you the ways and assist you in fully making the transition into your new life." _Goddamn him._ I stared at his face through my lashes. _Why did he have to be so nice and understanding? Better yet, why did I have to go and find him so lickable?_

"I bet your progeny is so lucky to have you," I said softly.

He gave me a look like he didn't believe me. "Is she?"

"Yes, she is. I bet you make a real good maker to her."

He brushed my compliment off with a nonchalant tilt of the head. "Well, I _do_ try my best." He opened his mouth to say something to me, but then he closed it. He was clearly indecisive on whether to tell me whatever that something was. But then he went and said it next, in a strangely gentle and deep tone, "The fact that your maker did that to you, it is... fathomless."

"Hmm?" I croaked out in confusion.

"The way they abandoned you, because you're..." He paused for a moment, meeting my gaze. His look was both deadly serious and earnest. "You are beautiful. Both inside and out." I inspected his face a moment longer dubiously before having to glance away from him in embarrassment.

I was waiting for the moment he cracked, and his joke was ruined. I waiting for him to laugh and tell me that he was just playing. To my shock, it didn't come, not even a full minute later through the awkward silence that drifted between us.

My first instinct was to laugh for him. No one had ever called me beautiful before. Okay, well, Gran said it from time to time, but... no non-related, head-to-toe lickable man had ever called me beautiful to my face before. But this was a line I had heard from Bobby in high school, the boy that had stood me up on my date. Then looking through his mind next day, I had found out he was only doing it to make his pals laugh. Whether it was a dare for Eric to say it to me or not, I wasn't going to fall for it that easily. Not again.

"Oh, I'm sure," I scoffed. "I bet you say that to all the ladies, don't you? I bet you can be a real charmer, when you want to be..."

I eyed him suspiciously. He shook his head, muttering something under his breath that was very rude. "Believe it or not, Sookie, I don't just say something unless I mean it."

"Liar," I breathed in fury before I could even stop myself. "You say that to all the women, vampire or no vampire, I'm betting. You charm them out of their panties by saying that, don't you? Because if I was pretty, both inside and out, then... why'd he just stand me up and then laugh about it to all his friends? His thoughts told me he thought I was a big freak of nature, just like... like everybody else thinks I am!" I slapped myself hard on my thigh with my hand when it all came tumbling out of my mouth idiotically. _Damn it, where on earth did my control on what I was saying go while I was around him?_

"Who's this?"

_Oh, great. My stupid mouth_. "Nobody," I muttered with a shrug. "Just forget I said anything about him. He was just some... guy in high school that I really liked. The first boy that I ever really liked, in fact. As it turned out he thought I was a freak just like everybody else does." I forced out an unconvincing laugh. "But, hey. What's new, right? Once a freak, always a freak."

"What an asshole." I had been so caught up ranting and raving that I was almost beginning to forget he was there. When I glanced over at him quickly, he didn't look none too pleased. In fact, his arms shook as his grip tightened on the steering wheel. "You shouldn't listen to assholes, especially not some... human boy in high school. He's just like your maker. An asshole." The words were a low, deep growl coming through gritted teeth. Apparently he was surprisingly vocal on the matter.

"I'm over it anyway," I said dismissively, even though it just made me sting inside all over again. The rejection. "I'm used to being rejected, like... even my friend from kindergarten, Tara, wants nothing to do with me anymore now that I'm a vampire. You'd think I would have well and truly gotten over what happened with Bobby in high school by now though, wouldn't you? It happened, like... fourteen years ago almost." I giggled at myself. "God, it was so long ago. Guess it just goes to show that you always remember the bad things that happen, don't you? They hold more power over you than the good."

Out of nowhere, Eric made a low noise of amusement in his throat. "Just think of it this way. If you were ever to run into this human boy again, you could easily kill him simply by jamming your hand through his chest and tearing out his live, beating heart." When he glanced my way again, he raised an eyebrow at me with a ghost of a smile there.

I tried to imagine myself doing that, slightly horrified by the smile that came across my lips. Eric was definitely right; And it was bizarrely satisfying, imagining myself getting Bobby back for that time. He'd pee himself if he knew that Sookie Stackhouse, that freaky girl in school, was now of the vampire persuasion.

"I do have to admit that it has appeal, the idea of getting payback from how screwed up he made me feel," I admitted with a grimace. "But something tells me I could never go through with that. I don't really see myself ever being able to be intentionally vicious to somebody, just because of what I am now and what I'm capable of. I would just only feel bad afterwards."

"But it certainly feels good, thinking about it. Doesn't it?" Eric pointed out knowingly. "It feels good wondering what it would be like to make him sorry for ever daring to hurt you?"

"It sure does, I'll admit that much."

After another minute of silence or two, finally he pulled up into Gran's winding driveway. The porch lights were already on, and as always, I could hear the T.V on in the living-room. Gran was still up watching TV, and she was undoubtedly waiting for me to get in safely. Sometimes Gran would come out the instance she saw the headlights reflecting from off my car alerting me home, and she'd stand on the porch waiting for me. Fortunately for me tonight, she kept inside.

I wanted to do something. Something to Eric.

I'd never been one to make the first move, especially not when it came to seeing a man. Mainly because I hadn't had a man in my life before. No man, no boyfriend.

When Eric shut the ignition off in my car, we turned slightly in our seats to look at each other. Though everything was dark inside the car and out it, too, I could see him clear as anything. The moonlight reflected off his face and I could see he was staring at me also. I wanted to kiss him, in a frighteningly needful way. I had wanted him to kiss me goodbye last night too, only he hadn't made the move on me. Maybe it was time I made the move and tried a little aggression?

I had to clear my throat a couple of times, because my voice suddenly had become almost non-existent. "Tomorrow night then?" I asked, dreadfully quiet.

"Yes." He nodded once, his tongue sweeping over his bottom lip. "Tomorrow night definitely."

I had nothing to lose by doing this, did I? If I did, I supposed it was a risk well worth taking.

Flinging my seat belt off, I shifted closer to the edge of the seat, lifting a hand up to brush my fingers teasingly around the shoulder padding of his leather jacket before moving it gradually along his upper back so that I was leaning practically over him sideways. The side of my body pushed against his with one of my boobs in particular. My eyes on nothing else but his, I saw his eyes widen slightly and thought I heard him swallow audibly. I made myself hum low in my throat when I felt him lift his arm up from behind me. He ran his large hand up along my back, until he reached the nape of my neck, his fingers curling around my neck, holding me still.

This was so unlike me, but judging by his such positive reaction, it was working. A mischievous impulse surged through me, and just like that, I didn't care about whether I was acting foolish in front of him or not.

"Did you really mean what you said before?" I asked in disbelief.

"Hmm?" He seemed too preoccupied with what I was doing for my words to register.

I brought my other hand up to rub his chest through his shirt while another moan left me. As if we were in sync, our fangs extended at the same time and I found I could barely refrain from hissing when suddenly one of his hands found my knee and he clutched onto it tightly, his fingers digging into me just the perfect amount.

"Did you mean what you said? About me being... beautiful to you? Why would you say that?"

"Because you are," he muttered thickly, his pearly white fangs glistening back at me in the dark.

I still had my doubts on taking him at face-value. I felt my forehead crumple, but instead of dismissing the compliment or telling him he was wrong, I chose to do something non-verbal. I bent down until the tip of my nose touched the patch of skin showing through the neck of his shirt, inhaling Eric in a little, reveling in his natural scent. Then my tongue crept out and I licked up his neck in a long, wet stroke, various tendons and cartilage twitching, and he replied to it by making a throaty rumbling grunt that seemed to vibrate on my tongue.

His Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed and, recklessly, I lifted my hands up blindly to cradle his face between them while I licked him again, and again. I dragged my tongue up to his jaw, tracing around his chin, tasting his skin like I was a cannibal hungry for him, and the noises he made got even wonderfully louder and gruffer than before. Both his hands found my head and he slipped his fingers through my hair, lifting my face upward towards the ceiling of my car. My entire body was quivering wildly and I hadn't realized I'd moved completely over him into his lap, until it occurred to me I was straddling him in his seat.

Before I had time to understand what he was doing, I felt Eric's tongue release its own vengeance on me in a long, swiping lick up the column of my throat. His tongue felt wet and delightfully squirmy. A sound I never even knew I was capable of making left my lungs and his breaths tickled me as he panted into my skin urgently. My head was spinning, and the entire car was spinning, and so was the moon. Or maybe it was just me, I wasn't sure.

Desperate to taste him again, I caught a thick handful of his blonde hair between my fingers and yanked him back, bending down like a starving dog to greedily get more of the food in their bowl.

"Fuck, Sookie," I heard Eric rasp when I assaulted him with my tongue again, my fingers tightening on his scalp.

When his head flopped back against the seat, I used it to my advantage in pushing his head to the side. I licked around the masculine muscles of his throat, tasting his skin and inhaling him in like he was perfume. When I made a wet trail up towards the crease of his neck, I opened my mouth, biting into the thin skin on the side of his jaw. He tasted faintly salty- but in a good way. His shudder went all through me, and just when I was licking my way to his lips, probing the light amount of prickly stubble around his chin, he caught a fistful of my hair tightly, only to sit up straighter in the seat so that he could finally catch my lips with his.

The instance his lips touched mine, we both moaned at using our lips against each other and kissing finally. While licking was oddly thrilling and erotic, kissing was even better. Especially when it came to kissing with my Sheriff. His mouth moved against mine in an unfairly effortless ease, and when Eric slanted his mouth sideways to deepen the kiss, he caught my tongue, sucking on it in a powerfully arousing way that had me trembling at the knees.

Then his fangs sliced through the sides of my tongue as I rubbed it against them and I knew I was bleeding mildly when I heard him making a few sucking noises, slurping the blood from my opened tongue into his mouth with a growl.

We were like birds in a birds nest, I thought absently. A baby bird getting fed by its parent with a beak halfway down its throat instead of a tongue. _Birds nests on the brain._ Pulling my mouth away, I spotted the smear of dark blood on his jaw from having nipped him, and I swiped it off clean with a stroke of my tongue before I heard something worrying that attracted my attention. My Sheriff was too busy picking up where he left off, nibbling on my ear, to even notice.

I looked in a panic and found my Grandmother peering out the window from in the living-room.

Whether it was too dark for her to see what was happening in the car or not, I hadn't the slightest idea. But with horror, I flung myself off Eric just in time to see Gran close the curtain hurriedly.

_Crap. Did Gran just see me making out with and licking my Sheriff?_

**Hope that wasn't too weird haha? Sookie sure does like licking him. :P**

**If you have any suggestions if I'm doing anything wrong, you are most welcome to tell me. I don't know if I'm doing this okay half the time, but if I'm not, feel free to make some suggestions. Godric will feature very shortly where Eric will have a missing maker of his own. Possibly Sookie and Eric will share a hotel room in Dallas. I don't know if you like the sound of that, but you're welcome to tell me.**

**Also hope you are enjoying the way the characters are written. I know Sookie isn't your typical vampire (she isn't very bloodlusty or vampiric), but hope you don't mind this interpretation of her. She'll grow as she becomes more accepting of her new state and as for Eric, he'll loosen up eventually too lol. **

**Thank you all so much, I really appreciate your kindness and support with the story. It's really unexpected and it means the world to me.**


	16. Chapter 16

**Firstly, I own nothing to do with TB. Thank you all so much for your kind words and the alerts, it means so much to me. Not sure what you'll think of this chapter, whether you'll hate it or not lol. I hope not.**

** I would love to know your thoughts. Thank you!**

* * *

**Chapter 16**

I found I had difficulty walking as I got up the porch steps towards the front door. I felt like I was still there in the car licking and kissing my Sheriff, funnily enough. It was like my brain had been momentarily swiped clean of any sense. There was no current thought there, no worry or anything, despite my Gran having possibly caught me out.

All I could think about was a few simple things. It was like my brain was screaming them at me, over and over in sheer glee.

_He said I'm beautiful! He kissed and licked me back!_

Finally, it seemed I had met a man who actually liked me for me.

Once safely inside and after I had closed the front door and locked it up securely, I paused in the narrow hallway of Gran's house, allowing myself the moment to let it all finally sink its way in. I felt completely overwhelmed. I couldn't believe it. I just couldn't believe what had just happened, not for the life of me.

I was grinning so hard that I probably looked feral, and when I lifted a hand to brush my fingertips across my lips, I very nearly shivered with excitement. This obviously had never happened to me before, in finding a man that for once actually seemed to maybe like me for me, all my peculiar quirks and all.

I had never even so much as properly kissed a man before, let alone give them a right good licking only to have them respond by both kissing and licking me back. It was kind of sad, really; Technically, if you still counted by real human age, I'd be a thirty-year-old woman, if I hadn't been frozen in time at twenty-five. And I was still a virgin, somebody who hadn't ever been intimate with somebody before.

Yet, here I was!

I could have literally both squealed and danced in joy, and I did, albeit I made it a silent squeal so Gran wouldn't have come rushing out in a worry. I shook my arms above me in the air, swinging my hips doing a cheesy number on the spot near the front door. I might have been acting like a childish teenager ecstatic over finally getting meaningful attention from her crush, yes, but... I just didn't care. Maybe it was a vampire thing? My emotions felt intensified, especially my crushing on him.

Once my little bout of happiness deflated to a reasonable level, I hung my bag up on the rack and let my mental guard down, focusing on what my Grandmother was thinking in the living room. Hopefully her thoughts would have revealed to me how she was faring with seeing me kissing another vamp in my car out front- if she had actually even seen us that well through the darkness, of course.

Her thoughts were fast and stunned. She was indeed thinking frantically about what she had only just witnessed of me in the car. I could also pick up on some relief there, though. Gran was pleased I had finally found a man I liked enough to want to kiss. And, also, apparently she had been wondering if I was maybe not interested in men (Not that she wouldn't have been supportive over me being a lesbian, of course).

All in all, it seemed Gran was reacting rather calmly to what she had just seen. She was pleased for me. It made me feel a million times better to know that and, all the embarrassment and guilt I could have felt didn't appear over the awkward situation of Gran having caught us out in the yard.

I was still dreading the conversation that was about to happen, though...

In order to buy myself some extra time, I suppose, I grabbed my uniform out of my hang bag and dumped them in the washing machine. When I turned back from the inbuilt laundry area, I got a shock when Gran suddenly appeared in the kitchen, smiling serenely at me. Usually I was not one to easily be snuck up on, but somehow, my Grandmother had managed that tonight.

"Oh, Gran." I forced a smile on my face weakly. "Hey."

"Hello, honey." It took me a second too long to notice she had a bottle of synthetic blood in her hand. "I'll heat you up a bottle of blood. I'm betting you're hungry after the long night you've had."

Hungry was the very last thing I was feeling right now. I was nervous as all hell, wondering whether I ought to mention and get to explaining about what had just happened first before she did, or to just wait until she made the first move to hash the topic out with me. Maybe I was just overreacting and being silly? After all, I was a full-grown woman who no longer had to answer to her Grandmother anymore. I ought to be able to do whatever I want and with whomever I want, now that I was practically thirty. Sometimes this was what was so difficult about living with Gran still at the age I was; Maybe I better start thinking of making a change of living conditions?

"Oh, no thank you, Gran. I'm really not feeling all that hungry right now."

"Well, hungry or not, you'll feel better once you have something in your stomach," she insisted, putting the bottle in the microwave to heat up anyway. After a minutes worth of consideration, I realized Gran was probably right. I should have a drink, seeing as I hadn't in quite some time. It was always better to be safe than sorry.

While the microwave was going, Gran turned on the coffee pot to fix herself a drink. She turned her back on me as she grabbed two mugs out of the kitchen cabinet.

"Did you have a good night, dear?" she asked me, her back still facing me while she darted over to the microwave as it went off after sixty seconds.

She took my bottle out, shaking it several times before opening it and disposing of a quarter of it into a mug for me. Usually I just drank my TruBlood's straight from the bottle; It certainly helped make less work to do, as far as washing up went. But then maybe this was her way of hoping we'd have a good girly chat while sipping our drinks together?

"Um, sure. It was fine. How was yours?"

"It was all right, dear. I got some of the gardening done, some of the housework. I might need to borrow you to help me with lifting up the couches so that I can vacuum underneath it again, if you wouldn't mind?"

"Not at all. I'll help you before work tomorrow morning, Gran."

She passed me my mug and I clasped it between my hands carefully before heading over to the kitchen table to sit. I didn't start sipping away until Gran settled in comfortably next to me in a chair at the table with a mug of coffee herself.

I couldn't put this off any longer. I realized I'd have to be the one to say it first. "I suppose you saw what happened outside, didn't you?" I asked nervously, despite knowing it was a silly question. I had caught her peeping out through the curtains in the living room after all. Of course she had seen a part of what had been going on, between me and Eric. I just wasn't sure how much.

Stunning me, Gran gave me a little excited smile as she held her cup to her lips. "Oh, boy. Did I ever." I placed my mug down on the table in front of me, suddenly feeling too queasy to drink. "Of course, I couldn't see much. It was all so dark out there," she admitted with a laugh. "But I did see dark shapes. Your heads going near each other's. I think I assumed as much then, into what was going on between you two. Is he that vampire that you said is helping you with discovering who your maker is?"

"Yep, he's the one, Gran." I tightened my hands over my mug to stop the sudden trembling of my fingers from becoming visible to her.

"So are you two dating?" she asked, her voice almost quivering with excitement.

I laughed awkwardly. "Um, no. I wouldn't say we are dating exactly. Really, he is just mainly helping me with finding out who my maker is."

"Well, yes. When the two of you aren't kissing, I suppose." Gran winked at me, and I almost toppled over out of my chair in shock. She was being surprisingly understanding- yet again.

"No, its really not like that," I assured her. "Were you really starting to wonder whether I liked women, Gran?" I asked her, surprised. Her thoughts had told me as much.

"I may have. I just wondered why you weren't dating much."

"Well, I'm very happy to tell you that I have no lesbian tendencies, Gran," I said honestly. "I like men. It's just that..." I paused for a moment to swallow a few mouthfuls of my blood down. I could feel that sting twinging there in the side of my ribs. "You remember what happened to me in high school, by any chance? With that boy I liked, whose name was Bobby?"

I knew she did. Her eyes clouded over with understanding at the mere mention of his name.

"Oh, yes, I do. I do remember that boy well. He had made you upset real badly."

"Well, I guess that's... why I've been real hesitant to try dating somebody, after what happened in high school. I was just afraid of getting hurt or rejected again. I do like men, but... I suppose that's the main reason why I tried to avoid that. And, seeing as now, with being a vampire, I don't get many men in town that would exactly be jumping straight in line to be dating me due to that."

"Regardless of what happened to you with that boy in high school, it is always hard to open your heart up to somebody." She reached over to pat me on the hand with a sympathetic smile. "Only sometimes, it can be a risk well worth taking. What that boy did to you is in the past, its history. It was just something one mean little boy did in high school to you."

"And I know that now, Gran." I smiled at her. "I'm trying to let go. It's just... scary putting your heart out there, opening up to the possibility of getting rejected or hurt again. But as you said, you're right. It's always frightening opening up to someone new and letting them have your heart."

"Can I meet him, this vampire that you were fooling around with in the car?"

I almost very nearly freaked out at the thought of asking Eric whether he'd mind meeting my human Grandmother, little less having the pair of them in the same room together. "I don't know, Gran," I laughed. "Somehow I hardly think that'd be any good, the two of you meeting."

Gran didn't try to push it, though I could tell she was disappointed. "Well, all right. When you're ready, you let him know that I am keen to meet him, won't you?"

"Okay, I'll let him know," I agreed uneasily. "Though, I can't make any promises, Gran. We'll see."

* * *

Once I got into work the next morning after having helped Gran with lifting the couch up so she could vacuum under it, it seemed as though it was going to be another ordinary, boring day. Arlene was off work which was disappointing, because usually I loved gossiping with her during our shift. It certainly made the time go quicker that way, when we could. Instead, I had another one of the regular waitresses to work beside me on the floor, Dawn.

I'd heard Dawn very clearly when she bombarded her way into Sam's office after having learned we were working shifts together. While Dawn had always been somewhat polite to me, at least to my face, clearly she wasn't feeling it today. I'd heard her arguing with Sam all the way through the plaster walls of his office (without her knowing, of course), that she found that if she had to work in the same room as me, particularly during this week, it put her in danger.

Apparently Dawn had her monthly flow come to town, and she was concerned that I'd somehow smell it on her like a bloodhound or rabid shark and that I'd senselessly attack her. I suppose it showed how little faith she had in me, though Sam assured her profusely I was not going to do anything to her.

Now ever since starting my shift at 8.30 in the morning, Dawn was keen to keep her distance from me. While I had better smelling senses than I've ever had in my entire life as a human, I couldn't personally smell anything different about her. Well, certainly not any smell that would cause me to fly off the handle and attack her in a bloodthirsty rage.

I just couldn't believe people sometimes. Just where they got their misguided ideas from...

I felt as though I was made of stone today. Unbreakable stone, where nothing or nobody could make me feel upset or hurt today. I found it easy to brush Dawn's behavior aside, though perhaps on another day, I might have taken it more to heart.

Still, I focused on ignoring her and keeping my mental shield up, which I found oddly easier to do today than I usually did. I was still over the moon over what had happened last night, as far as Eric and I kissing and licking each other in my car went. Maybe my positivism was a contributing factor in making things easier today?

Once night came in, I began feeling more and more eager to finally knock off work. I couldn't wait to see Eric again, especially after what had happened last night. Usually he would meet me after work at Merlotte's, well, that was where he usually did end up rejoining me, only... every time I glanced behind me at the doorway, I grew disappointed every time a random customer walked in that wasn't him.

Forcing myself not to keep glancing at the door habitually every five damn minutes, I paid more attention to the bar patrons instead, rushing around, making sure no one was without anything and left wanting. When I felt that prickling silence as someone entered, I was almost a hundred-percent positive it was my Sheriff. Only when I glanced behind me eagerly at the person, I felt my stomach drop.

It was the Vampire Bill that Eric had taken me to last night. Apparently he had felt the need to come back out into the real world, instead of closing himself off inside his house like a hermit.

I couldn't deny that I would have felt happier if it was Eric that had walked through that door, rather than this Vampire Bill. Still, he was a good enough substitute for the time being.

Slipping my hand into the pouch at the front of my apron, I retrieved my pad and pencil and made the start towards where he had sat himself. As though he was attuned to my presence- another being similar to himself- the vampire immediately turned to glance at me behind his shoulder with his grey eyes. I noticed them take a quick inspection of my uniform and what I was wearing, before they settled on my face again swiftly. I grinned at him pleasantly, determined to treat him as I do every other customer, while at the same time relieved I had no awkward fang-boner when it came to this one. The same, however, could not be said for him. As he smiled at me, in a somewhat stiff and restrained way, I noticed the tips of his fangs as they glistened at me in greeting.

"Hi, there. Good evening," I said. "It's real good to see you again. What could I do you for tonight, Bill?" The instance it flew out of my mouth, I knew it was a ridiculous question. Of course he'd want a bottle of synthetic blood. It wasn't like he could exactly drink anything else, could he?

"Ah, yes. Good evening. I believe it should come as no surprise to you that I'm wanting a bottle of the synthetic blood?"

"Right. Of course. And is there anything else you're wanting? Any particular flavor that you like?" When it came to me, I was not a fussy drinker. I could hardly care which flavor or type of blood I got. It was really all the same to me, pretty much.

"Actually, yes. Type O. O Positive is a favorite of mine."

"All right, so that's an O Positive for you," I clarified, jotting it down quickly with a flourish of my pencil to the paper. "I sure do hope you bought a toothbrush with you," I said, without thinking.

Vampire Bill's eyebrows rose at me. I laughed nervously.

"Well, personally myself, I always have one with me, just in case. For, you know..." Deliberately bending closer, I whispered under my breath, like it was a secret between me and him, "For the stains you get between your teeth." I leaned away from him with another laugh. That awkwardness I always tended to feel whenever I was nervous started settling in again. "Anyway, I'll be right back with your drink, toothbrush or no toothbrush."

When I got behind the bar and went through the motions in heating his bottle up, I caught Sam's stare as he worked behind the bar at the till himself. He was worried that another vampire was potentially giving me trouble, but I just shrugged it off with a little head shake that told him everything was fine. I had to wonder why the vampire had decided to come into the bar, though. I wondered if he had any new leads or valuable information about this nest that my Sheriff and I were supposed to be heading out to tonight to find more answers.

Once I trusted his blood was done, I carried it back over to him, my friendly smile still in place.

"Here's your O Positive," I told him, settling it down by his elbow.

"Yes, thank you." His voice was rather stiff and disinterested in the bottle of blood he'd just ordered. Wasn't sure why, though. "How long was it that you said you have been a vampire for now?" He asked unexpectedly, probably just trying to be conversational.

"Um, five years now," I admitted, though I wasn't entirely sure why he'd care to know. "Why?"

He appeared as though he was attempting to hold back a smile. "Oh, for no particular reason why, I assure you. I just only had a moment of recollection last evening about what you and Sheriff Northman were asking after you both vacated my driveway."

"Oh? Well, I'm open to any suggestions you might have into who did this to me."

"I recall now that there was actually another vampire that was in Bon Temps five years ago." I straightened, waiting for him to expand on that. He didn't; He simply stared at me blankly, almost calculatingly.

"In that nest of vampires, you mean?"

"No, not them. Not Malcolm or Diane or Liam, for that matter." He shook his head, strands of his fringe falling dangerously close to his eyes. "But another vampire. A particularly strong one; One that you are already well-acquainted with, it would seem."

Bill really was a fan of pausing and leaving me hanging.

"Who's this other vampire that was supposedly in town when I was made?" I asked, shaking my head in confusion.

"Eric," Vampire Bill finally said, his lips curling downward in hostility. Him and Eric were definitely not buddies. "Eric Northman. I know for a fact that he was in Bon Temps five years ago."

I felt as though someone had shoved a hand through my stomach, only to fiddle with my insides. Eric hadn't mentioned, not once, about being in Bon Temps five years ago. Why wouldn't he tell me?

"Really? He... he was in town around the time I was made?"

"It is highly likely that he was, yes."

I just couldn't get past the fact that he hadn't told me. Still, so what, if Eric had been in Bon Temps five years ago? He had told me he was sheriff, which also included the Bon Temps area. He no doubt had been in town, most likely checking around as part of his duties. "Isn't that part of his role as sheriff, though?" I questioned out loud. "I mean, everyone in Louisiana passes Bon Temps at least once on their travels. It doesn't mean anything, really."

Vampire Bill made a low noise of amusement, his eyes roaming over my face as he seemed to struggle not to smile again. "Clearly you do not know the type of vampire Eric is notorious for."

"Oh, no. I think I know him quite well." I knew Eric better than I knew this Bill, that was for sure.

"Eric is known to be deceptive. It is one of his main characteristics. Eric loves being deceptive and tagging people along, particularly humans." Bill's eyes ran down me again approvingly. "And clearly, that also extends to a vampire such as yourself." Bill sat back in the seat, his head cocked to the side as his eyes swept over me again. "Eric spent time here in Bon Temps after a job had gone awry. He was tasked to put an end to a coven of witches operating in the area, only that backfired and they used their magic on him. They cursed him, put a spell on him where thereby he lost his memory."

Witches existed in the world? It was news to me.

"I believe it to be highly likely that Eric may have created a newborn vampire the night he was cursed and without his memory those five years ago. A newborn vampire, which is you. He is leading you on, and is no doubt enjoying it as he does it. Deceiving people has often been an enjoyable pastime of Eric's. I believe it to be highly likely that you could be his progeny, though... I had not wanted to tell you of my suspicions with Eric there to hear me. I wanted to tell you of this in strict confidence."

Whether I found it likely or not, I wasn't sure. I wasn't sure what to think. I wasn't sure whether to believe what this Vampire Bill was telling me or not. But Eric and I had been spending a couple of nights in one another's company while he generously helped me try to locate my maker. If Eric was my maker, then... what was the point of him doing that? Would he really go that far to deceive me, as this Bill was saying?

Could Eric actually be my maker? No. No, he couldn't be. He'd tell me if he was, wouldn't he? I liked to think he would have. It just didn't make a load of sense to me. Why else would he help me with searching for my maker, if he knew, deep down inside, that the person responsible was him himself?

"And how would I know, for sure, if Eric's my maker or not?" I asked Bill quietly, mainly testing the waters.

Vampire Bill was silent for a moment, pursing his lips over the bottle of his blood to suck in a deep mouthful. When he placed it back down on the table and licked his lips, I saw the red stains there. "Well, do you find yourself... attracted to Eric?" Bill seemed to be struggling to find the right way to say it. "Do you find yourself... sexually interested in Eric?"

"I do," I admitted without hesitation. "But why should that matter? Eric's a very... handsome male vampire."

"Because it is the most significant sign, on whether or not a vampire is a maker's progeny," Bill explained to me gravely. "It is common, particularly for vampires, for a progeny and maker to feel... sexually attracted to one another. Rarely do vampires feel that way for no mere reason other than that. It is part of the... bond and connection between a maker and progeny, and an inevitable part of it. Eric is your maker, your creator, so to speak. It is only natural that you feel as though you wish to fuck him. It is a major part of the connection."

I found I could hardly stand looking at Bill while he spoke of this. So some of what he was telling me kind of made sense; I did feel this strange, intense attraction to Eric. But that was mainly because he was being so kind in helping me out. I loved a generous and helpful quality in a man. But really, I didn't feel my attraction to Eric had anything to do with him being my secret maker.

"Excuse me," I said after a moment quietly. "Well, I better get back to work. I can't be standing around all night talking to you, but... thanks all the same."

Bill gave me a smile that made me feel funny, his fangs still retracted. It was almost a patronizing look. "Oh, its my truest pleasure."

My happiness over what had happened last night and my good attitude today had vanished all in the matter of seconds, after my conversation with Bill. I tried to be as nice and friendly as possible to patrons, all the while keeping my smile in place, but my mental shield was no longer working for me. Thoughts hit me over the head, some mean, others confusing. My heart felt heavy, I felt dejected. Most of all, I felt confused. And also wondered what this vampire Bill was playing at.

I knew Eric more than I knew anything of this Vampire Bill. Eric had gained my gratitude, because he was helping me with finding my maker. He also was nice to me, and didn't mind sharing his knowledge of the vampire way with me.

I forced myself to push it all to the back of my mind. I'd have to worry about it later. I couldn't let my work suffer due to it, no matter how confused and upset I felt. I had to focus. I would have to deal with it later when the time came.

Once my shift was done, it couldn't have come soon enough.

I grabbed my hand bag and all of my belongings, heading out to my car in the parking lot. Eric still hadn't turned up, so I made a decision right there and then that I would go to Fangtasia where hopefully he would be. I'd ask him all about what the vampire Bill said then, hopefully. It took about a thirty minute drive. Listening to the radio had helped some in quelling my racing thoughts and it had taken away the hurt momentarily. But once I found a place to park and shut my car off, that ringing silence only served to make all my stresses reappear.

When I approached the line of humans waiting to get in through the entrance, I saw the same female vampire as before there, only she was dressed differently than she had been the last time Jason and I had gone to the bar. She was wearing a black leather outfit, that looked both like a corset and a dominatrix outfit. It had fake silver chains running down her legs. Just like before, I couldn't help feeling envious of her.

When my time came, I went to show her my I.D card. Apparently I didn't need to, though. She stopped me halfway through when I went to get it out, saying, "Don't bother. I remember you. I hardly ever forget faces."

"Um, okay then." As I shoved my I.D back in my purse, I caught her blue eyes scrutinizing me from head to toe. I glanced down at myself as well, self-conscious. I hadn't bothered changing. I was just wearing my basic Merlotte's uniform. Maybe they had a dress code at Fangtasia and I'd be refused? It seemed likely. "I'm here to see the Sheriff," I explained desperately. "Sheriff Eric Northman. You wouldn't know if he is here by any chance, would you?"

She arched a perfectly groomed eyebrow at me. "Of course the fuck I do. Eric's my maker."

"Oh, of course." I giggled at myself and my foolishness. Suddenly it all dramatically made sense. This was the progeny he had often talked about. Pam. "It's Pam, right?"

She didn't answer; She never said neither yes or no. She simply stared at me, a bit like I was something that inspired such laughter.

"Um, so if you know where he might be, would you be kind enough to show me whereabouts he is maybe?" I asked hopefully. "He was just supposed to meet me after I finished my shift at work tonight so that we could go look into a few important things, and he never showed..."

Eric's progeny cocked her head to the side, still inspecting me with her glacial blue eyes as she seemed to consider that. Then she rolled her eyes at me. "Fine," she huffed out. "If I must. Follow."

I followed after her quickly as she went through the boxy entrance, despite the protest of humans that were still waiting for her to card them and permit them entrance. I very nearly lost her as we struggled through the crowd towards where a lone door was opposite the bar.

Without thinking, I reached out, catching her by the wrist. She glanced back to look at me, her expression letting me know she did not appreciate my touching her whatsoever. "I'm sorry, but... does Eric have any other progenies aside from you?" I asked, hardly bothering to lift my voice over the music. I knew she'd hear me anyhow. Excellent vampire hearing.

She gave me an arch curve of her bright red lipstick coated lips. "Why? Are you thinking Eric's your daddy?"

That really wasn't the answer I was hoping for. "Please, I just need to know if he made any other vampires, preferably around five years ago?"

"How the fuck would I know?"

"Because your his progeny, maybe? Surely he's bound to tell you something?"

We came to a halt at the door and she gave my hand a very pointed glance. I released her like a good girl, folding my hands together out in front of me instead.

"In there," she said, jerking her chin at the door. "Mind you, he's a little... preoccupied right now. I'm sure it's something you'll enjoy, all the same." Before I could ask her anything else, she walked away from me. I thought I heard her laugh to herself as she went off. Yep, I definitely tickled her even just by her so much as even looking at me.

I sucked in a deep breath before raising my hand to knock on the door once. When I received no answer, I considered just barging in and starting with my interrogation. I had to know whether Eric was my maker, though for the life of me, I couldn't gather any reason why he'd lie to me about it.

I smelled the scent of blood before I turned the doorknob and peeked in to where my Sheriff's office was.

When I looked in and saw what was going on, I stopped short as understanding immediately settled its way in. Clearly I was interrupting. Eric was in his office, only he wasn't alone. He was sitting on a red two-seater sofa that was furthest to the wall near a desk. A woman was with him, slumped in his lap while he had a hand around her throat- a dark-haired woman who was wearing an extremely low-cut, plain dress and stilettos. He was feeding from her, getting his nightly snack in.

"Oh, my stars," I gasped in embarrassment. All my frustration at him seemed to vanish at the click of a finger. "Pardon me."

If Eric had heard me, he never showed it. He simply went on, his fingers curling tighter under her chin as he gave off a few slurping noises and gruff moans as his mouth fastened over the throbbing artery on her throat. The woman made a low humming noise that sounded both terrified and pained. She closed her eyes tightly, her face scrunched up and bosoms heaving under the fabric of her black dress.

My fangs lengthened at the sight as my eyes widened. I knew I ought to have retreated out of his office to give him some privacy, only it was as though I was rooted to the spot. My legs didn't seem to want to obey.

It rose a very peculiar reaction out of me; On one hand, I felt almost excited and aroused at the sight of my Sheriff in blood-sucking action. At the same time, I also felt strangely... upset. Thanks to the Rattray's, I had learned good and well how it felt to be struck by silver, and it was a highly unpleasant experience that I would soon have rather forgotten. Somehow, the pain due to that, seemed to pale in comparison to how it felt now with seeing this woman feeding him.

It occurred to me that I was feeling unreasonably jealous at her being the one to make him moan in pleasure, not to mention to have the good luck of having his mouth on her neck.

But I had no real reason to be jealous after all, did I? Shouldn't I have known better than anybody now- seeing as what I now was- that this was what came with being a vampire? You have to feed from humans in order to keep yourself well, if you're not going to drink Tru Blood. Plus, after having tasted that Spanish hunks blood that night, I now realized how much better real gushing, warm blood from a human was compared to synthetic bottled blood the Japanese had invented for us over seven years ago.

He was just eating. Everybody needed to eat in one form or another, didn't they? I could hardly fault him that, but still...

Maybe I ought to have just waited for him to meet me at Merlotte's later on tonight, rather than me having to have come to Fangtasia to see this? Really, my shift had well and truly finished and he hadn't shown. I figured this was a good enough reason as any to come knocking at his door.

Just as I finally found strength within me to start moving slowly backwards out of the door as soundlessly as possible, Eric's eyes opened. His mouth slanted over her neck as he lifted his head slightly, so that his bright blue eyes met mine.

Then he lifted his hand that was around her shoulder and held up one finger to me. It seemed a gesture that said, Don't leave. He followed the gesture up quickly with a low grunt of warning that made the woman's breath hitch in her throat fearfully.

As I stood around uncertainly, at true last it ended. He pulled away from the human woman with a bloody mouth as he counted out a few bills of money to give her. He handed them to her without a word as she hastily stood and slipped a fluffy scarf over her neck, concealing all evidence. As she pocketed the cash he gave her next without even so much as counting it, she left. She didn't bother looking my way as she slipped past me, slamming the door to his office closed from behind her. I guess the woman was in a super urgent hurry to get away.

I had a whole lot of questions I wanted to hurl at him. A whole lot of things I wanted to say.

Yet they seemed to disappear when I watched him lick his lips, his mouth stained red and still moist with blood. He looked about as lickable as he could have ever gotten, in that instance. It took everything I had not to just dart over and lick the blood off him, all my anger and confusion be damned.

Eric started wiping a finger across his wet mouth, only to pop that finger in his mouth to suck the blood off. Waste not, want not.

"I was about to head to you," he said, his voice deeper than usual and slightly slurry. "I thought I had better eat something first." He stood from the couch, so tall that he towered over me, and it very nearly made all my determination waver. This was going to be hard. His power naturally radiated off him in waves, every time I was near him, reminding me how much more powerful he was than me, how older and stronger. "The nest. Are you ready?"

"No, I don't think that's necessary right now," I said, though my voice wasn't as strong as I was hoping it would have been. "I have a few important questions that I need to ask you, if you wouldn't mind?"

A flicker of confusion came across his face. "Questions, Sookie? About what?"

There was a smear of blood there that he had missed. I bit down on my tongue with each fang to stop myself from following through. I wanted to lick it off so badly.

"Is that why I find you so lickable? Why I feel so... so sexually attracted to you?" I asked, without thought. "It's because its only natural, isn't it? It's part of the inevitable progeny-maker bond, what I... I feel for you. That's why, isn't it? Only due to that?"

I forced myself not to back down when he strode closer towards me with what seemed deliberate predatory slowness. When he stood close enough that he could have easily reached out and grabbed me, I grew uneasy then. Still, I forced my eyes to remain on nothing else but his, despite how intimidating he was to be standing so close. My head barely reached the top of his shoulders, and I fidgeted with my hands in front of me, naively thinking they'd somehow protect me and soften the blow if he chose to do something unpleasant to me.

He was the stronger vampire here, and I knew that, good and well. Still, I wouldn't be backing down right now. Not if I could help it.

"It was you," I blabbed out of sheer nervousness. "Your the one that made me this way. Well, at least... I hope so?"

I had no idea what he felt about that incrimination. He simply stared at me in a silence that felt loaded. Then he bared his teeth to me, without fang, and the anger there was almost palpable. I cringed when suddenly he lifted an arm, almost expecting him to hit me for some weird reason. Then I realized he was simply gesturing towards the couch he had previously been feeding from.

"Sit down," he ordered icily.

I stood my ground, keeping eyes with him. "No, I won't! I'm happy standing, thank you!"

There was simply a moment where he stared at me pointedly, his chest heaving as he panted through all his rage. Then without warning, he shouted, "Sit down before you piss me off even more! Now!"

It was the first time I'd ever heard him shout and raise his voice before and, by default, I flung myself down into the soft cushion of the sofa, trembling from head to toe with both anger and fear. I could feel myself on the verge of crying; People yelling at me was not something I particularly liked.

He spun around, pacing back and forth around the room for awhile, his anger still radiating out of his pores.

"I... I heard from somebody that the biggest sign that someone was your maker was if you feel attracted to them," I got out quickly when he continued pacing back and forth in fury, his arms swinging. "That it's what inevitably happens through the maker-progeny bond. They said that you were in Bon Temps around the time I was made five years ago, and you didn't tell me that, did you? They said it was...likely that you were the one that made me into how I am now? It's just why I'm bothering to ask this, is all..."

He stopped walking to focus on me again, looking still just as enraged, "And who told you this exactly?"

"That... vampire Bill. He came into my work tonight."

"Bill?" Eric repeated, and finally, I thought I heard a bit of something else in his tone that wasn't sheer anger. "Well, Sookie. I wouldn't put much stock into what Bill Compton says."

"He said you were cursed by witches five years ago and that you were hanging around Bon Temps at that time?"

"Yes, that is true."

"And you're... sure then that you didn't somehow create me into what I am today?" I asked slowly.

He stopped his pacing to approach me on the couch and I couldn't help but flinch when he knelt down in front of me, his arms coming around each side of my legs, his hands touching the top of my thighs. While he appeared calmer on the outside, it was misleading. I could still tell that there was anger there under the surface. "Look at me," he said very seriously, his voice softer.

"I already am?"

"Then see and hear what I am telling you because I will not repeat myself again." He moved closer until his face was inches from mine, his eyes brimming with startling sincerity. "I am not your maker. Whoever you maker was or is, they aren't me. I have only made one vampire in all my millennium, and that is Pam." The words were spoken slowly through gritted teeth. "Whatever Bill told you, it is simply not true. I do not run away from my responsibilities and I do not create vampires, only to abandon them. I would hope that you would both trust and know me well enough by now to know that."

Eric got closer and closer to the point where he was pretty much over me on the sofa, his eyes inspecting all of my face, his forehead creased. His fangs came out as he panted and I focused on them. Somehow it was easier looking at them than having to look him directly in the eye, not while he was so close the way he was.

I wasn't sure why he was real close to me, but all I knew then was that he was telling me the honest to God truth. Whoever my maker was, it wasn't Eric. And silly me, I had believed a stranger, this Bill. I couldn't say I was relieved Eric was not my maker. A part of me was disappointed; Because I wanted to find my maker, so desperately, and Eric seemed the type you'd want as your maker. He wasn't uncontrollable, or sadistic. I wanted to know why they did this to me, I wanted to find out who was responsible already.

After it all seemed to sink in logically, I felt a bubble of guilt work its way inside of me. "Then I'm sorry for... for accusing you then," I confessed truthfully, too humiliated to look anywhere else but at his fangs. And hell, at that small spot of blood still above his upper lip that he had missed.

I was so preoccupied with staring at that bit of blood that I didn't realize until a moment too long that one his hands was rubbing the side of my leg, up and down, up and down.

So there it was. I wasn't attracted to him sexually because it was part of some maker-progeny bond thingy. It was just simply... how I felt. It wasn't influenced by anything. I thought I already knew that. Vampire Bill had just only made me second guess things.

He moved his face closer, if that was even possible, to where his mouth almost brushed against mine.

"Never again," he said, the words a soft threat breathed against my lips. Both hands started stroking my legs. It was only when his hands would finally move past my work shorts, when they made actual contact with my skin, that I felt myself shudder. "Never doubt me or listen to someone else when they say disloyal things about me ever again, Sookie."

My eyes fluttered closed out of their own will, and my breathing shut off, both through my nose and mouth. If I was still my human self, I would have been either truly dead or passed out on the floor.

I thought I knew what I wanted to do then. It was his loss if he didn't want to, because I had it all made up then. I wanted him. I wanted him to make love to me. Right here and now, even, in his office. I believed he was the perfect type of man that you would share your first time with.

His hands went even higher up my shorts and to my shock, Eric curled his fingers under the band of them, yanking them down past my legs in the next two seconds. My eyes flew open, my fangs came down yet again, and I made a strange noise that resembled a cat purring. The inhuman sounds he made me make frightened me.

"I want you to make love to me," I managed to speak desperately through my fangs before someone knocked outside the door of his office.

_Damn it._

The door opened just as I was struggling to wiggle my shorts back on, and as Eric moved away from me to stand quickly, I discovered his progeny Pam was standing there, both hands on her hips. However much she caught of it, she didn't look very pleased. "Excuse me for interrupting on your impending little fuck fest, but Isabel returned the call. Godric's been missing from the nest for weeks now. It's why you can't feel him."

_And apparently I wasn't the only one with a missing maker problem right now..._

**_Well, I do hope this wasn't the worst? I'll just go hide now haha_**

**_In response to guest reviewer, sorry if Sookie is seeming a little dumb and juvenile. I wanted to write a different Sookie-as-vamp story, I know she isn't as she is in the show or books. _**

**_Really, neither is anyone in this I suppose, so I'm sorry. But she will develop and grow as both a vampire and personally, and she'll become stronger once she realizes her powers and own strengths. Hope how I've written the characters isn't too annoying. This is mostly for humor/comic value, the way Sookie is- rambling when nervous, a little too bubbly and naive- I'm just trying to write the story as fun as I possibly can, hopefully in a way you will all find some enjoyment in. She's been living for five years repressed basically on her natural vampire way, living as a human with her Gran and brother. Sorry if its annoying._**

**_:)_**


	17. Chapter 17

**_First and foremost, I own nothing to do with TB. Just a huge fan of both the book and series. I'm just messing with the characters. _**

**_Thank you all so much and I hope you enjoy this one. Sorry its just a filler, setting the scene pretty much. Probably very boring, sorry!_**

* * *

_**Cha**__**pter 17**_

My hands were shaking as I clenched them tightly over the steering wheel as I drove back home. It had been a draining evening, and although I mightn't have felt weary in my bones, I sure felt it in my brain.

I was going to Dallas two days from now.

It all happened so quickly, but arrangements were made. My flight and accommodation would be booked and paid for, and at the end of it all, I would get a nice little paycheck for my assistance in helping Eric track down his missing maker Godric.

Finding my very own maker would have to be put on hold for now.

After Eric talked to another vampire on the phone (I'm assuming it was someone from in Godric's nest that knew him well), they had believed he had been abducted and taken by the Fellowship of the Sun, an Anti-vampire group that always seemed to be on the evening news arguing against vampire rights, and how we all should not be legally allowed to vote or no less get married, seeing as we weren't 'real everyday people' and just a 'menace to society'.

I'd had the unlucky fortune of watching one of the advocates do their campaigns a couple of times on the news and I must say, the Fellowship of the Sun didn't seem like a very nice bunch of people. If these followers were in fact the ones responsible for taking Godric, then what hope did he have against people so hateful?

Dallas was just the starting point. Godric lived in a nest with other vampires, and he was also considered a sheriff in that area of Dallas.

Utilizing my mind-reading skills and my natural ability to be out in the sun and out and about during the day, I'd have to go looking around, possibly to see if I hear or see anything from in the minds of these anti-vampire believers to find out whether or not Godric actually had been taken by them.

I was nervous about the whole thing, truthfully. No one had ever asked me to use my telepathy for something so particular before, like a job in finding a missing person, but I agreed to try my best. Seeing as Eric had been so kind to me in helping me with finding my maker that had abandoned me five years ago and all the hard work he had done for me recently, I figured it was only fair I helped him find his very own maker, too.

I didn't know whether I was going to be any good at this. Some part of me was afraid I'd somehow get performance anxiety, but it was right in trying to help as much as I could, as best to my own capabilities.

It just meant I would have to take about a week off work. The returning back from Dallas time-frame was left open, because really, we wouldn't know how long we'd have to be searching for until we found Eric's maker. My boss Sam would probably get into a bit of a huff over me having such a long time away as a week, but I figured I was due it. I hadn't taken the time off in years (Aside from that time after I was made, where Gran and Jason had apparently kept me closed-off inside as they believed I would become a danger to the public in my newborn vamp phase) and I hardly ever had sick days.

Being a vampire now, if there was one thing I had learned best, it was that my immune system was in excellent peak condition. Not once in five years had I ever had the flu, or had felt generally under the weather. On most days, I felt healthy as a horse. Surely Sam would allow me to take a week off work, at the most, especially due to something this important.

Then there was the issue of letting Gran know too. I think I felt most of all anxious about telling her that, though I knew I had no real good reason to be. Gran had showed herself to be made of tougher, understanding stuff lately. No doubt I was over-analyzing and stressing on telling her way more than I ought to be. Procrastinating was not going to help. Instance I got home, I would be letting her know, first thing.

Once I finally got home and locked my car up safely, I couldn't hear the television going in the living room. Gran must have been in bed, having an early night. I sighed to myself as I unlocked the front door, getting inside. Obviously I was going to have to put off telling her of my travel plans in the meantime, seeing as she was already sleeping. I vowed to myself that I would tell her first thing in the morning.

I didn't feel hungry or thirsty in any way, so I didn't bother heating myself up a nightcap before bed. I went straight upstairs towards my room, pausing when I noticed our pet cat Tina was sitting curled up outside Gran's closed bedroom door. Tina used to love me and there was a time where she would always want to be sleeping in bed with me, curled up on my sheets when I was a human. But I had now since learned that cats weren't all that much a vampires fan.

She lifted her head to look at me, alerted and tense, like she was about to claw me and attack if I approached. I knew better. Much as I missed cuddling her, I left her alone and went into my bedroom instead, getting changed for bed.

As I switched on my lamp near my bed and pulled the covers down, I checked the time on my clock. It was eleven thirty.

There was one time when I had fallen asleep on the couch in the living room and Gran had told me next morning that I had worried her, because apparently I wasn't breathing or no less snoring, and that my sleep was so deep, that she had found it next to impossible to rouse me. I suppose that was what came with what I am now; When I slept, I slept deep and hard, like the dead (which I kind of really was, I guess). Not even throwing a bucket of water over me or setting me alight could wake me up apparently.

Attempting to get some sleep in right now was hopeless. My mind was far too restless.

Luckily, I had a book to read on my nightstand, so I started back up from where I left off. Then, like every other night, I found the simple act of turning the pages getting harder and harder. My fingers felt heavy and my eyes were droopy. When I bought my eyes over to my clock again, surely enough, it was just a minute left until it was twelve.

I rolled on my side with difficulty, stretching to put my book back on the nightstand. My entire body was heavy, and I felt all numb and tingly, like my body was shutting down into sleeping mode. With a tired grunt, I let go of my book. The sound of it plopping loudly on the floorboards by the side of my bed told me I had missed.

Six a.m felt as though it had come quickly.

As consciousness settled its way in, I started hearing the noises of birds chirping and rustling in trees. Then I heard Tina mewling for her breakfast, and I shot out of bed like a lion to go feed her. While Tina kept her distance due to no longer liking me, she approached enough to accept her breakfast from me of cat food.

I would have loved to sleep in, seeing as it was my day off today, yet I could not have that. My mind and body didn't seem to want me to. I felt alert and cheerful this morning. Since Gran was still sleeping, I went around in my nightgown, cleaning the bathroom and the toilet and then getting some laundry done to take out to the line. Being a vampire now meant that I could get cleaning done at almost lightning speed, and by the time I was done, I had free time to myself while waiting for the washing machine to finish with the laundry.

I heated myself up a bottle of blood then took it with me outside as I stood on the porch, looking around. It seemed like it was going to be a lovely morning. The sun was already out and fairly bright. The lawn needed mowing though, something Jason usually did. Seeing as I was already up and I had energy to burn, I started our old lawn mower and started making tracks around the lawn and around the back. By the time I was doubling back, I saw Gran was now up, dressed in her gardening overalls and wearing her straw hat. Obviously she was planning to do more gardening today.

She waved at me, and I could tell she was meaning to talk to me so I shut the loud mower off. "Morning Gran," I called to her cheerfully. "It looks like its going to be nice today."

"Sookie, what on earth are you doing out here so early?" Gran sounded confused. "Already, you did the laundry and cleaned half of the house, leaving me with no work to do. And now you are doing the lawn as well?"

I knew how this probably looked like to Gran. She probably thought I was on crack, or was being possessed by a hyperactive demon.

"Well, I figured I might as well, seeing as I was already up." I shrugged, smiling sheepishly. "I just felt like it, I guess."

"You better come inside and rest your bones for a few minutes," Gran said, in her no-nonsense voice. "Otherwise you are gonna get sun stroke!" Gran was concerned, I realized then. Why she felt concerned, I had no idea.

"Gran, I'm not even so sure that I can even get sun stroke anymore. And I'm fine, really. I woke at six and getting back to sleep was so not gonna happen anytime soon, so... I figured I might as well keep myself busy and do some house work for you."

"Still, you come inside." She tusked her tongue at me. "You must be thirsty. Come inside and I'll make you a nice iced-tea before you overheat, pet." She realized her error then and she laughed, embarrassed. "Or the equivalent of an iced-tea with your artificial blood, I suppose I ought to say."

Since Gran was a difficult woman to resist I followed her inside, marveling at how energetic I felt. At least when I was working it felt like I was putting all my stamina to good use. I thought this was half the reason why I dreaded my days off work, in a sense. It was hard to figure out good ways to burn all my extra energy off.

Gran heated me up a bottle of blood while the pot was going for her coffee. She opened the freezer door to get some ice-cubes out, then once the timer went off, she threw all of my blood into a large glass.

"Should I put ice-cubes in there?" she asked me uncertainly.

It was something we had never tried before, so I just shrugged. "Might as well try it and see, Gran. I can't see how it would hurt any." I had to talk to her about going away for possibly a full week, so I decided now was a good enough time as any. "Um, Gran. I have to go away for a week to Dallas. I'm going to have to pop into work to ask for a full week off."

Gran sat next to me in a chair at the table while nursing a hot cup of coffee for herself. "Why Dallas exactly? What's there?"

It was hard to know what to tell her. I wasn't entirely sure whether Eric would be pleased if I told her the truth about me going to help find his missing maker, so I decided to not say so. "I can't exactly say why, Gran," I told her. "But it's for something really important, so I'll be gone for a week at the most."

"Are you sure that you can really afford that?" There wasn't a time where we hadn't been tight with money.

"Oh, no. Um, Eric is actually arranging to get it all paid for me. My flight and my accommodation will be paid for, so its not coming out of the bank or will be effecting my pay, Gran. There is just... something I need to do for him."

"Well, all right then," Gran agreed after a moment. "You don't need to ask my permission, of course. I'm glad you let me know, though. You'll just keep safe, won't you?"

"Of course. And besides, don't I always?"

"You just ring me on your phone if you are in need of anything, won't you?"

I hardly knew any reason why I would need anything from her while there, but I agreed to. "Will do, Gran. I'll call you the instance I get the flight in just so that you know I'm safe."

"Flight in?" Gran repeated nervously. "Oh, I bet you'll be anxious due to that. You have never been on a plane before."

It was true; I hadn't. There was definitely some anxiety there due to that, but I figured, I was safe, wasn't I? I hadn't heard any cases where a vampire had died due to a plane crash, so I figured I'd be fine. "I'm sure I'll be fine, Gran. While I am nervous about being on a plane, it should work out fine." I smiled at her reassuringly, though it felt fake, even to me. "And I'll buy you a present there, I promise."

She laughed, waving it off with a hand. "I don't expect any presents from you, dear. Don't be silly. Just be safe."

"I will. I'm always safe, Gran."

If I had to step into Fellowship of the Sun territory, I wasn't so sure if her promise would be easily upheld. Plus, if I got myself into any sort of danger and was feeling threatened, naturally, my first instinct would be to protect myself, even if that meant by... biting somebody. I wouldn't dare tell Gran that, though. _When away, vampire Sookie will come out to play. _I had a little internal laugh to myself.

"You better let Sam know, won't you?"

"I will. I'm popping in a bit later to let him know I need a weeks worth of time off."

Explaining to Sam that I needed the time off wasn't going to be easy. While he had always been a great boss to me, despite his annoying and meddling ways, I wasn't too sure how he would react to this news. Once I had a shower, got changed, and drove into work to see him, Arlene was there. We talked for a couple of minutes and then I went to Sam's office, where he was. I knocked, and once he permitted me in, I found him huddled against his desk doing paperwork, like always.

"Hey, Cher. What are you doing here? I'm pretty sure that today is your day off, isn't it?"

"It is my day off and I know that," I explained to him with a weak laugh. "There's just something I need to notify you of. I'm needing a week off." I had been anxious about talking to him about it, even rehearsing it in my head on the drive over. I figured it was best to just let it all run out freely.

"A week off?" Sam spun around in his chair to look at me. "Is everything all right? Everything all right at home?"

"Yes, there's really nothing to worry about, Sam. Everything is fine. Gran's fine, and my... my brother is perfectly fine, I think. Well, last I saw of him, he was."

"Then what you needing the week off work for?"

I could understand that Sam was always concerned for me, as well as everybody else he employed, but I really wished he wouldn't ask me for specifics. "Nothing that you need to be concerned about, Sam. But if you haven't already noticed, I haven't had time off in a very long time and, really... this is the one and only time I have actually asked for it in over four years. Surely I deserve it, just one week, don't I?"

He thought about that for a moment. Then he shrugged. "Well, all right. You can get the full week off work. But whatever you're planning to do, I hope you'll be careful. You'll do that for me, right?"

"Yes, Sam. I'll be careful. I just need the time off, is all."

With Sam giving me permission, I finally felt stress-free for the first time all morning. Now I could simply focus on packing and living through the flight to Dallas. I could think about what was awaiting for me once I actually touched down later.

Packing was easy. I put a few dresses, some neat skirts and blouses, a whole six-pack of TruBlood's, some make-up, and some comfy shoes and a pair of heels away in my suitcase. I may have even packed my prettiest lingerie, preparing myself in case something big with my sexy Sheriff happened while we were alone in the room together, hopefully uninterrupted. I really couldn't figure out what else to take with me.

When the day of flying to Dallas finally arrived, Jason offered to give me a lift to the small airstrip on Hollywood Ave, in Shreveport. I had everything packed and ready, and I drank two full bottles of synthetic blood in the morning just to tie me over on the plane trip. That full liquidy feeling in my belly seemed to quench my nerves good enough, though on the drive towards the terminal, I could hardly seem to sit still in my seat.

Eric had printed me out my plane ticket, which I had neatly tucked away in my handbag. Apparently I just presented it to the person at the door of the plane, and then they would let me in to find a seat for the flight.

Eric wouldn't be on the plane with me, unfortunately. Seeing as the flight was booked for eleven-thirty in the morning, I would be riding on the plane alone all by myself, while Eric would be somewhere else on the plane, safely concealed and travelling in a coffin. I suppose it was understandable, considering he couldn't stand the sunlight like I could. It would have actually helped to have him there with me, though.

"I feel like I'm gonna be sick," I admitted to Jason while I wound down the window in his truck. Sticking my head nearly out the window and inhaling in the fresh air seemed to help some. "I hope the plane isn't going to crash on me."

"You just need a little extra something to take the edge of, Sook. Then you'll be fine." I shifted in my seat to stare at him quizzically. I hardly felt as though anything would make me feel fine. "You just need some valium or something, sis."

"Valium?" I laughed. "Yeah, right, Jason. How do we even know valium would work on me?"

"Well, it can't hurt to try, could it?"

"Yeah, but..." I hummed thoughtfully. "I don't even think it would actually work on me anymore. I don't think I can take anything like that anymore, seeing as I'm a vampire now. There's probably no point."

"Yeah, probably. Shit, if I know."

That urge to throw up grew even worse once we finally reached our destination. Maybe drinking those two full bottles hadn't been such a good idea after all? I felt too full, too bloated, and definitely not in a good way. Seeing the plane waiting was worst of all. Anubis Air Airlines was painted on it, and the door was already lowered, with a flight attendant waiting.

It was a woman, and she was wearing a basic navy outfit, though her skirt was a bit too short, if you asked me. Nevertheless, my brother enjoyed the sight.

He whistled as he saw her once he pulled in. "Damn. Look at the legs on her," he muttered under his breath appreciatively, though I wasn't entirely sure he had meant for me to hear it.

I gave him a pointed look of warning. "Don't even go there, Jason," I warned him.

As we got out, he offered to take my luggage and carry it up for me. Really, though his mind, I knew he had other intentions. He just wanted to have a go at flirting with the woman, but I foiled his plans by snatching my suitcase off of him briskly. I could carry my own suitcase and handbag just fine without his help.

"See you then," I said to him, and when I hugged him, my belly felt sore at the contact. Those bottles of blood were definitely not such a good idea, indeed.

"Bye, sis. Have a safe flight."

"Well, I'm hoping so," I grumbled, suddenly agitated. It was the nerves doing it to me, I was assuming.

The woman came down to meet me, and I showed her my ticket. She showed me up the stairs towards the door and once I got inside, it was amazing how small the interior was compared to the outside of the plane, which looked huge and scary. There was hardly anyone inside and the plane was spacious, which meant I had it all to myself.

I was allowed to sit anywhere I pleased, so I settled on the closest seat I could find, choosing to sit as far away from the window as possible so I couldn't see out. I shoved my suitcase and handbag into the luggage compartment, wishing I'd thought of bringing a book with me just to occupy my mind and take the stresses away.

I was looking forward to this, but at the same time, it was scary. There was a lot of pressure resting there on my shoulders. I was especially looking forward to spending time with Eric, hopefully in a hotel room together when I wasn't out using my gift to listen into people to trace Godric's potential whereabouts. It was about damn time, us being in a room together. I was hoping, maybe foolishly, that things might evolve between us from one thing to the other.

Hopefully a vampire like me could survive a plane crash, though. Honestly, I wasn't so sure that I could, but I was hoping so.

After a terribly nerve-wracking take-off, we were finally up in the air. One of the attendants came towards me between the row of seats, wheeling a trolley of beverages and snacks with her. Little did she probably know, I couldn't eat or drink any of them.

"Would you like anything from the food card, ma'am?" The woman asked me. At least the hospitality was good.

"Um, no thank you," I said with a forced smile. "With my specific dietary needs, I'm unable to eat any of that." That was the nice way of putting it, though the woman's face went blank with confusion. We were having a misunderstanding; I could tell as much, by her thoughts.

"Oh, well. We have gluten-free, diary-free..." I loved being the one getting served for once.

Evidently she didn't know what I was. I suppose, looking at me, it was hard to see that I wasn't a regular human and that I was more of the vampire persuasion. This was going to come in handy when I went into Fellowship of the Sun territory; They'd just assume I was a regular sweet, human folk, like outside appearances made people believe. It must be a real rarity then; A vampire being able to come out during the day that could stand being in the sun, and not getting hurt by it.

"...Or if you're a diabetic, I can show you a different range of options, such as the..."

I couldn't let the woman go on, without telling her the true reason why I couldn't eat anything from the food cart menu offered. It just seemed wrong of me.

"Really, no thank you," I said again, polite but firm. "If I hadn't prepared myself well enough this morning, I would have bought a bottle of synthetic blood from you-all, but I'm sorry, I drank a bit too much this morning and I'm literally full as a boot." I patted my stomach through my dress for emphasis. "Thank you so much, though. The hospitality here is just so great. It's really taken that nervous edge off about flying for the first time." I laughed nervously.

She looked at me as though I had suddenly grown two horns on my head.

"Thank you so much though," I laughed again nervously, when she just stared like she believed I was fibbing. Maybe I oughtn't have told her about my drinking habits? Note to self: Don't tell anyone about my skills in Dallas, and especially not my being a day-walking vampire. If Dallas would be anything like Bon Temps, word would have only spread around like wildfire. That would just be asking for trouble.

With a smile on her face that seemed pitifully forced, she nodded. "You're very welcome, ma'am. You just let me know when you are needing anything, won't you?"

"Sure, I'll do that."

She scurried off down the aisle with her cart in a way that felt to me a bit too sudden. Maybe I had frightened her a little? How strange. Me evoking fear from anybody was the very last thing I'd expect to happen, but apparently somehow with her, I had accomplished it.

Since when did I scare people?

After a rocky landing with the plane in the airport, I was finally in Dallas. It had taken only over an hour and yet, it had felt like years. When I was told I was welcome to disembark, I grabbed my handbag and my suitcase, stepping down the stairs. The contrast in temperature from inside the plane to outside in Dallas, was startling. It was hot as hell, and every time I breathed, it felt like all I was breathing in was heat and humidity. I felt like a fire-breathing dragon.

Then as they got everything out from the cargo bay, I spotted two male baggage handlers wheeling the tightly sealed seven-foot coffin that most likely had _my_ Sheriff in it towards me. It was still daytime, about in the middle of the afternoon, so I assumed they would be transporting the coffin and me to our hotel of choice, because I sure as hell didn't have a clue with where we were meant to be staying otherwise.

At least we had arrived in Dallas safely though. The plane hadn't crashed on me.

Now, I just had my work left to do in helping finding Eric's maker. And hopefully, it would all turn out right as rain.


	18. Chapter 18

**Hey guys, I'm sorry for taking so long with updating.**

**I've been struggling a lot lately with my uncle's passing and writing has been incredibly hard lately. I feel like I'm not getting anything good out for you guys, so I'm sorry if this one is really disappointing. It's hard to pull myself out of it at the moment, so I do hope you'll forgive me.**

**Thank you all so much for being so kind and patient. I really don't want to let you guys down with the story, so I hope this one was okay. Hope you are all safe and happy! **

* * *

**Chapter 18**

Once down the steps and off the plane, a security guard was waiting with a sniffer dog on its leash. I knew it was bad for me the instance the medium-sized German Shepherd started snarling and barking, raising its head to me, the fur on its back standing upright on end. Animals no longer liked me ever since I had been turned vampire, which was a true shame, as I had always been an animal lover at heart.

"Ma'am, step over here please," the guard directed me in a bored voice.

He'd been working long hours lately and he was drained and tired. He just wanted to finish his shift and head on home- or so his thoughts told me. When I stepped towards him, the dog was still barking harshly at me and snarling. It really didn't like me.

"We seem to be having an adverse reaction towards you from Flutie over here." He handed the dog to another guard, seeing as it was getting a bit too aggressive. "You have any concealed weapons on you?"

This was the first time I had ever been called over by a security guard, so I felt quite tense and shaken. Far as I knew, I hadn't done anything wrong or had broken any flying laws.

"Um, no, Sir," I answered politely, though fearfully. "I got no concealed weapons on me. Animals just don't like me."

_Did a pair of fangs count as a concealed weapon?_

"Set your suitcase down on the ground, please." His stern, no-nonsense voice wasn't helping any, but I obeyed and did what he said immediately. "You got any drugs on you?"

"Drugs?" My worry subsided, and now I was just feeling insulted. "I'd never touch drugs, not ever."

"Then spread your legs apart, please." His command startled me. Why on earth would I need to spread my legs for? "You've just gotten a strange reaction out of Flutie, so its my duty to pat you down, make sure you aren't trying to conceal anything. That alright by you, ma'am?"

I didn't see how I had much choice and I dreaded being into trouble, so I obliged in spreading my legs apart as he went behind me. It was strangely degrading when he started running his hands up my bare legs, around my crotch, giving me a good thorough feel.

His body brushed against me and the higher up he got with his big hands, the more uncomfortable and on-guard I felt. My fangs shot down- a natural defense mechanism, it seemed- but I was cautious to keep my lips pressed tightly together.

_"Dang, feel the firmness of that body she got there..."_ I heard by his thoughts. _"Imagine what's underneath that dress... Don't seem like she's concealing nothing illegal... Weird of Flutie's behavior... Nice, firm rack though..." _

The last bit was while his hands gave my breasts a quick and, what felt to me, unnecessarily curious squeeze, then he reluctantly stepped back. Was it protocol for a security man at the airport to squeeze your breasts? I couldn't be sure, but it didn't feel all that good to me.

It felt invasive, and it took all I had not to follow through with the urge to clamp a hand down around his wrist to hopefully snap it in half.

He cleared his throat before saying hoarsely, "All right, all good now, ma'am. Thank you for your cooperation."

I collected my suitcase and purse from the ground and as I turned to look at the man, I let him know how displeased I was by him copping a feel. "I'm all for what you people do here in making sure no one sneaks in anything illegal or dangerous," I said to him, pulling up my top lip a bit too much so he could see what I had underneath it. He squinted at me through the glare of the sun, his eyes popping out at the sight of my fang bling. "But _next time_, you don't squeeze my breasts that long. Understand, mister?"

He actually stepped a good distance back from me, gulping loudly, and it made me feel so good that all that had just happened in the past couple of minutes instantly felt like little fish to be worried about.

"You have a nice day now," I finished through my fangs, enjoying his reaction.

A satisfied smile broke across my mouth as I showed him my back, strolling away from him.

_Yep, I definitely was going to enjoy my time here in Dallas, all right._

* * *

The hotel we were to be staying at, was called the Hotel Camilla.

As it turned out, people working for Anibus Airlines also had a combined car service, so a four wheel drive was waiting to take us to our hotel. Eric's coffin was placed in back, and the car was fortunately big enough. I hadn't been anywhere out of Bon Temps before, so I sat in the front with the driver, enjoying the sights and the hustle and bustle of the mid-afternoon traffic. Dallas was so much larger and populated than a small town like Bon Temps, and you could really feel that.

Once the car pulled up at the hotel, a few men from inside came out to help with both the luggage and also carrying Eric's coffin upstairs to the room. I would have been perfectly content with carrying my own luggage, yet the young man that rushed out to help me seemed all too eager to that I couldn't resist. I smiled at him thankfully, and he smiled back in a way that looked more like a nervous grimace than anything else.

"Welcome to the Hotel Camilla," he said, in what I was assuming was his customary greeting. "I'm Barry, and I..." He looked sideways at my face, and his smile weakened for some reason. "I'll, uh, I'll be your porter."

"Thank you," I said, still smiling. When I glanced up at the hotel that was to be my accommodation for potentially a week at the most, I felt overwhelmed. It was unlike anything I had ever seen in Bon Temps before; For one, it had to be five-stories high, the building. It looked very high up there, as far as hotels went.

"...And yes, it's actually the first hotel catered to suit vampires," Barry cut in anxiously, like he could hear me. "The rooms are even light tight, which means that... that the windows are tinted and limit ultraviolet light exposure." He seemed not at all completely there, and he was coiled up like a spring with anxiety and distress. A quick probe into his mind immediately revealed to me why that was.

To both my equal shock and delight, Barry was a telepath, also. He could read human minds, exactly as I could. I hadn't met anyone like me before, and it seemed he wasn't experienced enough to know how to put his mental guards up from time to time to stop it from getting too overwhelming. I could also see that, he was big on denial; He didn't want to acknowledge that he had this ability, and he certainly did not want anybody else to know. So, feeling pity for him, I tried to keep quiet about it and pretend I hadn't noticed.

"I'll just show you to your room and then I'll put your luggage with you," he mumbled to me, and I followed him after checking in with the reception and getting a key card for the room handed to me. We took an elevator up to the forth floor and I followed Barry down the narrow hallway. When we finally stopped at one of the doors, he showed me how to use the key card properly and then he helped with carrying my luggage in.

The room was not at all what I was expecting either. It was fairly large, and modern. The white curtains were open and when I glanced outside the window, the view was amazing. I could see everything. When I looked down towards the street below us, it seemed about six feet of a fall.

"Er, is there anything else that you need to know while I'm here, ma'am?" Barry asked, shaking me out of my admiration. I turned to look at him, finding him standing there, my luggage on the floor neatly beside him. "We have room service offered to you. You just press that button over there, and you make your orders from the menu, and then food will be delivered straight up to you shortly." He pointed to the telephone on the wall.

He didn't know I was a vampire.

"Great, thank you," I mumbled uncertainly. Then I remembered. "Oh, and if I'm wanting something from the menu that's, uh..." I paused for a moment, struggling how to put it without frightening him off, "...Vampire related?"

"Oh, we have blood donors here for that, too. Hotel Camilla is the only hotel that offers that option for vampire clients currently."

"Right, so if I'm feeling... peckish I do the same thing? Press the button for room service?"

"Actually, that's number two. Press number two, and it will direct you straight through." Barry seemed a bit confused by my asking, but I decided it was probably best not to tell him. The less who knew about what I was while in Dallas, the better.

"Great, thank you so much for your help, Barry." He gave me a tentative smile, moving to leave. That was when I realized Eric's coffin hadn't been brought up to the room. "Oh, Barry, wait," I called him back urgently. "Um, my other... room mate that came to Dallas with me in his coffin, Mr Northman? Eric Northman?"

"Oh, you both actually have separate rooms. Mr Northman will actually be in the room just straight down the hallway from you."

"Oh." In a ridiculous way, my heart actually sank over that news. I didn't know why I just automatically expected us to be sleeping in the same room together, but a part of me kind of was hoping we would have been. "Well, thank you again."

Barry nodded before leaving, and as the door clicked shut, it fell strangely silent in the room.

Suppressing a sigh, I went over to my bag of luggage, starting to unpack. Then I peeked into the bathroom, saw the wide tub, and decided a long soak in a bathtub would be very nice. This one had definitely put my one at home with Gran's to shame.

After about a full hour of lounging around in the hot soapy water, feeling fresh and reinvigorated, I got out, slipping into the complimentary white fluffy bathrobe that was offered while I called Gran like I promised, assuring her that I had arrived safely by plan and that I was fine. Then I started inspecting the room more; The little mini-bar was fully stocked with bottles of TruBlood, and a few small bottles of vodka and other alcohol. _If only I could still drink alcohol, how wonderful life would be..._

There was still roughly two hours to go until the sun went down and my Sheriff woke, so I decided I might as well make myself busy in ordering something from room service. I now felt hungry, so I called the line to order someone up for me. I had my self-doubts and second thoughts, but then decided I might as well experience everything once, shouldn't I?

I was brushing out my damp hair and slipping into some underwear when I heard the person make themselves known.

"Um, room service," a man croaked out as he knocked a couple of times. "For a Miss Stackhouse?"

He sounded just as nervous as I felt, bless him. When I strode forward to let the door open for him with one of my tense smiles, he appeared just as nervous as his voice had sounded. He wasn't at all what I was expecting; He was young, about eighteen or so, with short brown hair. He looked about the same age Barry was.

"Yes, please. That was me that called, I'm Sookie," I said, a bit too eagerly. I tightened my robe over my body. "Come on in."

He hesitated before stepping into the room fully, looking around. I closed the door securely shut before turning to glance at him, my smile still there.

I could tell, by his thoughts, that he was just as surprised by me too. Apparently the recent vampire clients he had hadn't been the smiley types like I was.

"Um, where you want me?" he asked uncertainly, looking around again.

"The couch is just fine. Or... whenever you'll feel most comfortable?"

We both sat on the couch, and I could tell we were still both equally as nervous as one another. Maybe this was his first time as well? Or maybe... he was just wanting for me to dig in and begin? I didn't want to seem rude and too overeager to start feeding, so I decided on small talk instead.

"You been doing this long?" I asked curiously. "I mean, feeding vampires at the hotel?"

"About three months now," he admitted with a shrug. "The pays real good, better than any other regular job. You can just begin whenever you want to. We don't got to make small talk or nothing like that. Honestly, I'm used to vamps just going straight for it. Where do you usually, you know, like it?"

I stared at him blankly, wondering what he meant exactly. Then it occurred to me when I heard his thoughts. Most of his clients preferred neck biting to other places. As for me, I wasn't too sure I felt comfortable with that; Neck biting seemed far too... intimate almost. Not to mention risky seeing as it was my first time unsupervised and all. My eyes drifted to the side of his neck, at the pulsing point there. Then when I breathed in slowly, it felt noticeably different; Like there was a fire lining my throat, burning me from the inside out.

"Um, I'm happy with just your wrist, if that's okay with you?" I asked hesitantly, and I could see it was more than okay by him.

I noticed him sag against the couch in relief just a little. He busied himself with undoing the cuff-link on his sleeve, and I became aware of myself just staring at him, so I deliberately forced myself to look away instead, swallowing down a thick, painful gulp.

I didn't know about him, but I felt anxious as all hell. Mostly, I wanted to do this right. I didn't want to end up going too far and somehow taking too much blood from him; Maybe I ought to have waited for Eric to wake come night after all? Then again, I also wanted to learn and experience this by myself, to reassure myself I was capable of feeding from a real live blood fountain without going overboard.

He shifted on the couch towards me, and before I even could make any sense of what was happening, I was already holding his arm between both hands and his wrist was pressed up against my mouth. My fangs had already come out to play and they were throbbing, aching for it. That burning in my throat had become nearing the point of agony; It was so dreadfully painful that I wanted it to end. Only I held good restraint on myself, with just allowing myself to have his warm wrist up against the lining of my lips. I wasn't playing with him, I was more so just testing myself.

"I've never done this before," I admitted a little shamefully against his skin, flicking my eyes over to him. He was holding himself rigid, his breathing deep and shaky. "Well, at least not on my own and unsupervised anyhow. I probably seem like such a ditz."

"Really?" He croaked out; Both shocked and unnerved that I hadn't done this properly before. "New vampire? You were turned recently?"

"Nope, I'm actually five years old. Well, I've been a vampire for five years, but so far... I've only drank from a human once. Usually I stick to the bottled stuff, but I kinda feel like a treat. This'll be my second time," I explained, and my tongue accidentally brushed against his skin with the words. His skin didn't taste too bad either; It was salty, slightly sweaty. "Maybe we ought to have a safe-word?"

"A safe-word?"

"Yeah, you know, like... you say a word to warn me that I'm going too far or that you're getting too uncomfortable. Pick a word." It was probably foolish of me, but I'd feel better and it would help a lot more in letting me know when to stop feeding from him.

"Um... pot plant?" He suggested uncertainly, his eyes staring at the pot plant on the carpet across from me.

"Pot plant, okay," I agreed, licking my lips to moisten them. "Well, you just say pot plant whenever it gets too uncomfortable for you, okay? Or especially when you start feeling a little woozy."

He hadn't ever had any vampire client asking him to use a safe-word before. Far as I was concerned, I thought it was incredibly smart thinking of me, to be honest.

"So, you got a wife? Or a girlfriend?" I reasoned that it would also help me if I got to know him on a more personal level. I couldn't go too overboard if I knew he had family waiting for him.

"Um, no. I'm pretty much single. Single and enjoying it."

"Well, good for you."

I could see he was getting uneasy by all the questions- usually the vamp clients just went straight into the biting- and, frankly, I didn't think it was possible for me to hold off for any longer. I bit, blood pooled into my mouth, and _that first swallow_..

Goodness me, it was_ so good_. _Too good_.

It took away that burning wonderfully, with each and every bit that slid down my throat. It acted as a cooling relief, that wonderful taste running down my throat. My entire body seemed to loosen with a bliss that felt strangely close to that of an orgasm. Well, of course, I hadn't experienced many orgasms in my time to be totally sure. But hell, it sure was good enough.

Who needed sex when biting and drinking from somebody felt just as good? _No, I couldn't be thinking like that,_ I scolded myself. _Keep that up and I'll start biting every single person I see..._

When I looked at the boy again, I could see his breathing had slowed and he was a lot paler than he had been once he came in. His eyes were clenched shut and his head was lolling back on the couch. Then with effort that seemed tremendous, he muttered, "Pot plant" in a sluggish way.

I drew back on the couch, licking my mouth, feeling content and appeased.

When I went to wipe my mouth, blood came off on my palms. "Goodness me," I said apologetically, licking the red stain off my palm with my tongue. _Waste not, want not. _"I am such a messy eater, aren't I?" Then I slid my tongue around the corner of my lips. "Excuse me."

Afterwards, we sat on the couch, staring at one another nervously. I didn't know what to say, but then, as it seemed, neither did he. I wasn't sure whether I would have offended him by complimenting on the taste of his blood, so I kept quiet.

Then he said, "Aren't you gonna heal me? Usually the vamps do after they've fed?"

"Oh, I didn't know." I peered down at his wrist uncertainly; There was still two fang marks there from me, the skin still completely broken through and red-stained, and it was still weeping with fresh blood. I hadn't ever healed somebody before, so I wasn't entirely sure what it entailed. Even with Eric, I hadn't been game enough to ask that much, considering how I didn't want to annoy him or show the depths of my inexperience. "Um, how do I heal you exactly?"

The boy looked surprised, before he lifted his wrist towards me. "Well, usually what the vamps do is, that they nick themselves with their fangs, like, on their fingers or something. Then they smear the blood all over the bite."

It sounded easy enough. I brought my finger up, rubbing it against my left fang. Then I had to tilt it more on an edge so that the sharpest point would break through the skin.

My fingertip tingled and itched where it hurt, and I quickly smeared my blood over his opened wrist before I glanced at my finger again curiously. Surely enough, my finger had healed over completely. When I watched his wrist, it did too.

"Holy Mary, Mother of Jesus," I spat out in surprise.

Now, there was no longer any broken, fang-marked skin there. It was just a red stain of completely closed up skin. My blood had managed to successfully heal his wound up completely.

Despite myself, I grinned. I thought I could definitely get used to this, and quickly. I had never healed anybody before, no less seen the effects firsthand by myself.

"Wow, I'm really learning a lot lately," I laughed despite myself. "This is gonna sound real funny, but I've never so much as even healed anybody with my blood before. How amazing! I never knew I could!"

I went to pay him as he stood to leave, only he insisted that it couldn't be paid for until I was checking out of the hotel, so I couldn't even give him any money for his services. Checking the time, I had half an hour left until Eric would wake, so in order to make it go quicker, I got changed in a fresh pair of clothes to feel better. I threw on one of my skirts and one of my floral blouses and prayed that I looked decent enough for whatever was going to happen once Eric and all the other vampires woke.

I wasn't sure if Eric would expect me to get straight into it tonight. Really, I had no idea in the slightest of what to expect at all. I had no idea what was going to happen, but I hoped Eric would fill me in beforehand.

There was a pounding knock on the door fifteen minutes later, and I grinned widely in the mirror to make sure I had no red stains visible in my teeth before I went to open it. I felt my body tense up, as I peeked through the eye-hole in the door.

"It's me," Eric said straightforwardly, like I hadn't thought of looking through the peephole to check and see who my visitor was. "We have an hour, and then one of Godric's underlings Isabel Beaumont is meeting us downstairs in the lounge with her human."

I had to suck in an unnecessarily deep breath before stepping back to let him in.

When he stepped in while his eyes took a comprehensive scan of what I was wearing, I saw what he was wearing and I felt confused. Or well, more like maybe it was what he _wasn't_ wearing...

He was wearing a pair of tight dark denim jeans, but his shirt was missing. The jeans rode low, showing off glorious pale skin and tight muscles. He had a body fit for a God, that was for sure. I could see a few red splotches of what looked like TruBlood drying on his skin, and those splotches just_ screamed_ to be licked off him by a tongue. Eric seemed almost playfully abashed as he looked down at his bare chest as well. "Oh, dear, it would seem that I had an incident and spilled bottled blood all over myself."

I had to fight the impulse to smile. "Uh, yes. I can sure see that."

"What was it that you continuously like to call me again?" He asked, feigning confusion. "Lickable, was it?"

"Oh, yes._ Definitely lickable_."


End file.
